The Barbara and Patrick Roche Center for Catholic Education
Lynch School of Education, Boston College
Two Way Immersion for Catholic Schools (TWIN-CS)
  • Home
  • About Us
    • TWIN-CS Overview >
      • TWIN-CS - FAQ
      • What Is TWI?
    • Member Schools
  • TWIN-CS BLOG
  • Resources for Members
    • December 3 Webinar Link
    • Webinar Library
  • TWIN-CS in the News
  • Summer Academy
    • SUMMER ACADEMY 2019 >
      • Connect to Canvas
      • Directory 2019
    • Summer Academy 2018 >
      • Agenda 2018
      • Entertainment 2018
      • Lodging/Transportation 2018
      • Maker Space 2018
      • Directory 2018
    • Summer Academy 2017 >
      • Photo Galleries
      • School Directory
    • Summer Academy 2016
    • Summer Academy 2015
    • Summer Academy 2014
    • Summer Academy 2013
  • TWIN-CS Resources Library

THe Bilingual Brain: Lifelong benefits of bilingualism

12/14/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
Graphic courtesy of Frontiers in Psychology 03 December 2014 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01401
While we in the TWIN-CS community are well-aware of the benefits of speaking and writing in more than one language, it is always good to remind ourselves of these positive side effects on our precious brains.

Scientific studies of aged brains, particularly those impacted by dementia and other cognitive diseases, demonstrate that bilingualism and multilingualism protect the brain, somewhat. The study cited here notes the "focus on bilingual memory as an avenue to explore the relationship between executive control and cognitive reserve." A similar study of elderly adults found that "years of bilingualism appears to change how the brain carries out tasks, particularly those that require concentrating on one piece of information without becoming distracted by other information. This makes the brain more efficient and economical with its resources," (see Bilingual Brains).

These long-term benefits can begin in early childhood, as found by Mariano Sigman, who wrote The Secret Life of the Mind: How Your Brain Thinks, Feels, and Decides. Among other benefits, Sigman writes of how many studies have demonstrated that bilingual or multilingual brains exhibit better executive control. Such individuals are better able to focus, concentrate, and make connections between concepts, because of the language skills they have. Speaking more than one language allows them to think more efficiently. A recent study from Luxembourg found a similar impact on such individuals' ability to complete math problems. The study found that "brain regions associated with visual processing are activated in bilingual people when solving math problems in their second language—something that’s not seen in monolingual people, and which has lifetime implications."
-Mary Bridget Burns


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    TWIN-CS BLOG

    This blog features critical developments and updates relating to the TWIN-CS initiative.

    Archives

    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

    Photo credit: D47.org

Maintained by the Roche Center for Catholic Education
25 Lawrence Ave. Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467

© 2016 The Trustees of Boston College.