The research base on the cognitive effects of bilingualism continues to grow at a rapid pace, spurred in large part by ongoing advances in brain imaging technology. It is now clear that bilingualism confers a number of cognitive benefits, including cognitive flexibility and creative thinking, communicative sensitivity, metalinguistic awareness, and enhanced executive function (Adesope, Lavin, Thompson, & Ungerleider, 2010). Once you know another language, it also becomes easier to learn additional languages. Most recently, studies with the elderly have shown that the on-going use of more than one language delays the onset of dementia by almost two years (Bialystok, Craig, & Freedman, 2010). It appears that the abilities to speak more than one language, to understand that the same concept can have more than one label, and to realize that not everyone speaks the same language(s) as you do are all associated with more general cognitive benefits.

Invited Session (45 minutes)

Best Practices in Instruction

PK-12 Schools

General (of interest to PK-12, adult, and higher education)