Development Description Main focus/Big Picture: Multilingualism and its effect on development/cognition. *A Dissection of the Bilingual Mind: Effects on Behavior and Cognitive Development How Being Multi/Bilingual Shapes Your Way of Thinking/The( Your) Mind Focus on child/young cognitive development What else? : Compare Bilingual and monolingual –> cognitive development –>perception *(time, emotional, direction, etc) * how language can affect the perception of time * color spectrum * –> Code Switching –> Personality (personality change between languages) –> describe developmental characteristics of young dual language learners/ bilingual or multilingual minds –> Bilingual education * Use to enhance performance in children *Use to prevent early onset Alzheimers Title: A Dissection of the Bilingual Mind: Cognitive Development Introduction: Classes of Bilingualism: Bilingualism (L1) The first language or “mother tongue” is often referred to as L1. Bilingualism (L2) Cognitive Effects: Statistics: Childhood development: L1 L2 Behavioral Aspect “Code Switching”: Biopsychology: Body Paragraphs 1-36 (however many need for at least 12 pages/ 3600 words +/-15%) Conclusion: References/quotes: “For example, young children with balanced bilingual abilities have shown some advanced linguistic, cognitive, and social-emotional skills during the preschool years (Castro & Espinosa, 2014; Espinosa, 2013).” (Challenges and Benefits of Early Bilingualism in the United States’ Context Linda M. Espinosa University of Missouri-Columbia) “ This means that young emergent bilingual children in the United States are unlikely to benefit from the cognitive advantages of balanced bilingualism.” (Challenges and Benefits of Early Bilingualism in the United States’ Context Linda M. Espinosa University of Missouri-Columbia) “This means that young emergent bilingual children in the United States are unlikely to benefit from the cognitive advantages of balanced bilingualism.” (Challenges and Benefits of Early Bilingualism in the United States’ Context Linda M. Espinosa University of Missouri-Columbia) “While early research suggests that bilingualism creates a language handicap in individuals, more recent and methodologically better research clearly supports the advantages of bilingualism in promoting overall cognitive development. Three major explanations for this improved development are proposed: that (1) the bilingual-bicultural child experiences the world from two different perspectives, increasing his awareness and moving him away from a limited, egocentric point of view; (2) the code-switching process inherent in bilingualism facilitates development of a more flexible approach to cognitive problems; and (3) the bilingual’s metalinguistic awareness or objectification of language promotes higher levels of abstract thinking and concept formation. The cognitive and academic advantages observed in bilingual children are usually the result of additive bilingual situations, in which the child’s two languages are developing and functioning in parallel, rather than subtractive situations in which mastery of the second language is achieved at the expense of competence in the first. Bilingual education is not only a right, but also an excellent tool for enhancing the academic and intellectual potential of our children. (MSE)” (M. Diaz, Rafael. (1985). The Intellectual Power of Bilingualism. Quarterly Newsletter of the Laboratory of Comparative Human Cognition. 7.) “ The idea that bilingualism causes cognitive damage to children is no longer held by researchers, but it lingers in popular belief. It is based on the assumption that language is central to cognitive development, which is not held by all theorists. Another theoretical issue is whether the mind is a limited-capacity container or can accommodate two languages with ease. Social concerns arising from cases of poor acculturation have also influenced research on bilingualism….These studies contradict the argument that bilingualism in itself might cause cognitive confusion in the child, and support the idea that bilingualism can lead to higher levels of metalinguistic awareness and cognitive ability. In general, they point to the benefits to children of all language backgrounds of learning and maintaining two languages. (MSE)”(Hakuta, Kenji. (1986). Cognitive Development of Bilingual Children.) ( )
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