Bilingualism & multilingualism

A bilingual or multilingual person is someone who knows and can speak more than one language, and is capable of using each language effectively, on a regular basis and in different social contexts.

‘The adult mind and brain are open to experience in ways that create profound consequences for both language and cognition,’ and learning to speak more than one language contributes to improving an individual's cognitive processes (Kroll and Bialystok, 2013: 497).

There are two types of bi / multilinguals, depending on when these speakers pick up a second / additional language. In the first instance, bi / multilingual speakers may have been exposed to, and thus may have learnt two or more languages, either from birth or early childhood. In the second instance, adult speakers have learnt a second or any additional language(s) much later in life.

Research has shown that the brain of early bilinguals is very receptive and capable of learning phonology, morphology and grammatical rules spontaneously and implicitly, without any formal explanations. On the other hand, adults who learn to speak a foreign language later in life are more likely to need to be formally taught grammatical and morphological rules which are then consolidated by practice in relevant linguistic-cultural contexts (Pinker, 1995). In all cases, because of their familiarity with different language structures, subconscious language learning processes, and implicit brain plasticity, bi / multilinguals tend to acquire other languages more easily.

Bi / multilingualism moulds an individual’s neuro-cognitive functioning, triggering various emotional and cognitive advantages (Kroll and Bialystok, 2013). Native bi / multilinguals are more likely to develop human empathy and open-mindedness (becoming aware of different points of views and perspectives) earlier than monolinguals because, soon in life, they realise that they have to adjust their choice of language to those around them in order to communicate and be accepted by their linguistic community (Dewaele and Van Oudenhoven, 2010). As for adults, neurological research has shown that learning a foreign language, at any point in one's life, acts as a brain stimulant, enhancing the brain’s neuroplasticity and mental fluidity, while slowing down the mental aging process (Bak et al., 2014). Also bi / multilinguals skilfully tend to devolve to their second, and less emotional, language for a more rational and balanced decision-making approach (Keysar et al., 2012).

How do neuroplasticity and mental fluidity operate? When speaking, bi / multilinguals select the language that better enables them to get their message across, given a specific linguistic context. However, despite this exclusive use of one language over another, the languages that bi / multilinguals speak are constantly present and ‘alive’ in their brains, potentially intruding in their minds but being effectively kept under control.

When my students speak a language competently but not fluently, they often experience infiltration of vocabulary belonging to other languages that they have previously acquired; this happens because their cognitive processes are constantly searching for words and translating them in their head. Despite this apparent intrusion of ‘alien’ vocabulary, neuroscience has shown that the human brain has an efficient capacity to switch off, and temporarily inhibit, the 'unwanted' language to accommodate the language required in a specific social context.

This ability to control (i.e., inhibit and switch) one language when speaking another boosts the fluidity of executive control functions which deal with focusing, directing / prioritising attention, planning and decision making. The fluid control of executive functions is one of the key cognitive skills that bi / multilinguals develop. Bi / multilinguals have advantages in terms of attention (e.g., auditory attention, filtering background noise and boosting sound encoding) and inhibition (i.e., a control mechanism that allows the switching between languages) (Abutalebi, 2008). These control mechanisms are particularly effective when undertaking non-verbal, multi-tasking activities that requires selective attention - and this is where bi / multilinguals seem to have an advantage over monolinguals (Kroll and Bialystok, 2013).

‘In the realm of cognitive processing, studies of executive function have demonstrated a bilingual advantage, with bilinguals outperforming their monolingual counterparts on tasks that require ignoring irrelevant information, task switching, and resolving conflict’ (Kroll and Bialystok, 2013: 497).