"Why Bilinguals Are Smarter" was a pretty awesome article by the New York Times. It turns out being bilingual has profound effects on your brain; improving cognitive skills that are not related to language and even prevent dementia in older age. It makes you smarter from a young age. I found it interesting that bilingual children are quicker at performing tasks such as organizing shapes and colors all because they are bilingual.
The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals is that they have a heightened ability to monitor the environment. We discussed this in class. Bilinguals perform better, with less activity in part of the brain involved in monitoring. This indicates that they are more proficient at it and are more aware and interested in their environments than monolinguals. I am so excited to continue learning Gujarati after learning this. I've found that I'm actually performing very well in my classes and my studying habits are surrounded by both English and Gujarati as well as traces of Spanish which I have learned over the years. Learning a new language at 21 is making me use parts of my brain that I haven't used in years. I think quicker on my feet in everyday situations just because I am so stimulated by the language. My partners also observe this (the fact that I'm always thinking, because the language does not come naturally to me).
After graduating in the spring, I am going to continue to work on Gujarati until I master it. I will then try to learn one language every three years and really use the vocabulary and speak to native speakers. I feel that this will be a great way for me to combat the hereditary brain deteriorating illnesses that exist in my family.
Replies