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Lifelong Bilingualism: Linguistic Costs, Cognitive Benefits, and Long-term Consequences

Air date: Thursday, January 14, 2010, 3:00:00 PM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
Description: A growing body of research points to the importance of specific experiences in modifying cognitive outcomes and supports the interpretation that there is long term brain plasticity. Thus, cognitive systems are fundamentally shaped by our experiences. One such experience is bilingualism, with dramatic outcomes found across the lifespan, beginning in the first year of life. The two primary consequences of bilingualism are slower and more effortful linguistic processing than comparable monolinguals but faster and more efficient executive control, especially applied to nonverbal tasks. Dr. Bialystok will report research illustrating these two opposing outcomes, taking examples from studies with children, adults, and older adults. These effects have been found into older age and are evidenced as well in patients diagnosed with dementia. She will review this evidence and propose a framework for understanding the mechanism that leads to both these positive and negative consequences of bilingualism.
Author: Ellen Bialystok, Ph.D.
Runtime: 1 hour