WHAT CAN YOU DO?
“In addition to staving off the decline that often comes with aging, bilingualism can also protect against illnesses that hasten this decline, like Alzheimer's disease” (Viorica Marian and Anthony Shook, 2012, p.1). Thanks to the brain’s developed ability to “hold back” one language while using another, also called inhibitory control, researchers have found proof that bilingualism does have a positive effect on the brain (Viorica Marian, and Anthony Shook). Scientists at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) have conducted experiments with all age groups and have found incredible results. Some of them include improvement in memory, along with your cognition, decision-making skills, and inhibitory control. Learning another language takes time, so you should start today by learning how to say “hello”, “goodbye”, “how are you?”, and “my name is…”, in your favorite language.
Among the advantages of learning a new language is multitasking. By that, I’m not referring to doing four things at a time, but by making your brain ignore perceptual information and focus on the relevant aspects of the input (Viorica Marian, and Anthony Shook). “Recent research indicates that bilingual speakers can
outperform monolinguals--people who speak only one language--in certain mental abilities, such as editing out irrelevant information and focusing on important information, said Judith Kroll, Distinguished Professor of Psychology, Penn State...Bilinguals seem to be better at this type of perspective taking" (Penn State News, 2011, p.1). Because they perform better at activities that require conflict management, multilinguals switch from one task to another more rapidly than monolinguals. This is also due to bilinguals reflecting better cognitive control.
Cognition is referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension, such as thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem-solving (Kendra Cherry). This is more fully developed when learning another language. “They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other... It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles” (The New York Times, 2012, p.1).