The benefits of a bilingual brain - Mia Nacamulli

00:05:04
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMmOLN5zBLY

Resumen

TLDRThe video explores the cognitive and neurological advantages of being bilingual or multilingual. It categorizes bilinguals into three types: compound, coordinate, and subordinate, based on their language acquisition. The video highlights how bilingualism affects brain function, including increased grey matter density and enhanced executive functions. It discusses the critical period hypothesis, which suggests that children learn languages more easily due to brain plasticity. Additionally, it addresses misconceptions about bilingualism being a handicap and emphasizes that learning a second language can be beneficial at any age, contributing to better brain health and delaying diseases like Alzheimer's.

Para llevar

  • 🌍 Bilingualism is common and offers travel advantages.
  • 🧠 Bilingual brains may function differently than monolingual ones.
  • 📚 Language ability includes speaking, writing, listening, and reading.
  • 👩‍👦 Types of bilinguals: compound, coordinate, subordinate.
  • 🔍 Brain imaging reveals how language learning affects brain structure.
  • 🧩 Bilingualism enhances executive function and problem-solving skills.
  • ⏳ Learning a language in childhood may provide holistic understanding.
  • 💪 Bilingualism can delay diseases like Alzheimer's by up to five years.
  • 📈 Earlier views of bilingualism as a handicap have been debunked.
  • 🌱 It's never too late to learn a new language for brain health.

Cronología

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:04

    The video discusses the advantages of being bilingual or multilingual, highlighting that knowing multiple languages can change how the brain functions compared to monolingual individuals. It explains that language ability consists of speaking, writing, listening, and reading, and that bilinguals can be classified into three types: compound, coordinate, and subordinate bilinguals, depending on how they learned their languages. The video also touches on brain imaging studies that reveal how language learning affects brain structure and function, particularly the roles of the left and right hemispheres. It introduces the critical period hypothesis, suggesting that children learn languages more easily due to brain plasticity, while adults may approach language learning differently. Additionally, being multilingual is linked to cognitive benefits, such as increased grey matter density and delayed onset of diseases like Alzheimer's. The video concludes by encouraging viewers to learn new languages at any age for mental health and cognitive engagement.

Mapa mental

Vídeo de preguntas y respuestas

  • What are the types of bilinguals?

    There are three general types: compound bilinguals, coordinate bilinguals, and subordinate bilinguals.

  • How does bilingualism affect the brain?

    Bilingualism can lead to higher density of grey matter and more activity in certain brain regions.

  • Can learning a second language in adulthood be beneficial?

    Yes, it can lead to less emotional bias and a more rational approach to problem-solving.

  • What is the critical period hypothesis?

    It suggests that children learn languages more easily due to the plasticity of their developing brains.

  • Did earlier experts view bilingualism positively?

    No, before the 1960s, bilingualism was often seen as a handicap.

  • What cognitive benefits does bilingualism provide?

    Bilingualism can enhance executive function, problem-solving skills, and overall brain health.

  • Is it ever too late to learn a second language?

    No, it's never too late to learn a new language.

  • How can bilingualism delay diseases like Alzheimer's?

    The heightened brain activity from bilingualism can help delay the onset of such diseases.

  • What are the active and passive parts of language ability?

    Active parts are speaking and writing; passive parts are listening and reading.

  • What is the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex?

    It plays a large role in executive function, problem-solving, and task switching.

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Subtítulos
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Desplazamiento automático:
  • 00:00:06
    ¿Hablas español? Parlez-vous français? 你会说中文吗？
  • 00:00:12
    If you answered, "sí," "oui," or "会" and you're watching this in English,
  • 00:00:18
    chances are you belong to the world's bilingual and multilingual majority.
  • 00:00:23
    And besides having an easier time traveling
  • 00:00:25
    or watching movies without subtitles,
  • 00:00:27
    knowing two or more languages means that your brain
  • 00:00:29
    may actually look and work differently than those of your monolingual friends.
  • 00:00:34
    So what does it really mean to know a language?
  • 00:00:38
    Language ability is typically measured in two active parts, speaking and writing,
  • 00:00:43
    and two passive parts, listening and reading.
  • 00:00:46
    While a balanced bilingual has near equal
  • 00:00:49
    abilities across the board in two languages,
  • 00:00:52
    most bilinguals around the world know and use their languages
  • 00:00:55
    in varying proportions.
  • 00:00:57
    And depending on their situation and how they acquired each language,
  • 00:01:01
    they can be classified into three general types.
  • 00:01:04
    For example, let's take Gabriella,
  • 00:01:07
    whose family immigrates to the US from Peru when she's two-years old.
  • 00:01:12
    As a compound bilingual,
  • 00:01:13
    Gabriella develops two linguistic codes simultaneously,
  • 00:01:18
    with a single set of concepts,
  • 00:01:20
    learning both English and Spanish
  • 00:01:22
    as she begins to process the world around her.
  • 00:01:25
    Her teenage brother, on the other hand, might be a coordinate bilingual,
  • 00:01:29
    working with two sets of concepts,
  • 00:01:31
    learning English in school,
  • 00:01:33
    while continuing to speak Spanish at home and with friends.
  • 00:01:36
    Finally, Gabriella's parents are likely to be subordinate bilinguals
  • 00:01:41
    who learn a secondary language
  • 00:01:43
    by filtering it through their primary language.
  • 00:01:46
    Because all types of bilingual people can become fully proficient in a language
  • 00:01:50
    regardless of accent or pronunciation,
  • 00:01:52
    the difference may not be apparent to a casual observer.
  • 00:01:55
    But recent advances in brain imaging technology
  • 00:01:58
    have given neurolinguists a glimpse
  • 00:02:00
    into how specific aspects of language learning affect the bilingual brain.
  • 00:02:05
    It's well known that the brain's left hemisphere is more dominant
  • 00:02:09
    and analytical in logical processes,
  • 00:02:11
    while the right hemisphere is more active in emotional and social ones,
  • 00:02:16
    though this is a matter of degree, not an absolute split.
  • 00:02:20
    The fact that language involves both types of functions
  • 00:02:22
    while lateralization develops gradually with age,
  • 00:02:25
    has lead to the critical period hypothesis.
  • 00:02:28
    According to this theory,
  • 00:02:30
    children learn languages more easily
  • 00:02:32
    because the plasticity of their developing brains
  • 00:02:35
    lets them use both hemispheres in language acquisition,
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    while in most adults, language is lateralized to one hemisphere,
  • 00:02:42
    usually the left.
  • 00:02:44
    If this is true, learning a language in childhood
  • 00:02:47
    may give you a more holistic grasp of its social and emotional contexts.
  • 00:02:52
    Conversely, recent research showed
  • 00:02:54
    that people who learned a second language in adulthood
  • 00:02:57
    exhibit less emotional bias and a more rational approach
  • 00:03:01
    when confronting problems in the second language
  • 00:03:03
    than in their native one.
  • 00:03:05
    But regardless of when you acquire additional languages,
  • 00:03:08
    being multilingual gives your brain some remarkable advantages.
  • 00:03:12
    Some of these are even visible,
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    such as higher density of the grey matter
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    that contains most of your brain's neurons and synapses,
  • 00:03:19
    and more activity in certain regions when engaging a second language.
  • 00:03:23
    The heightened workout a bilingual brain receives throughout its life
  • 00:03:26
    can also help delay the onset of diseases, like Alzheimer's and dementia
  • 00:03:31
    by as much as five years.
  • 00:03:33
    The idea of major cognitive benefits to bilingualism
  • 00:03:35
    may seem intuitive now,
  • 00:03:37
    but it would have surprised earlier experts.
  • 00:03:40
    Before the 1960s, bilingualism was considered a handicap
  • 00:03:44
    that slowed a child's development
  • 00:03:45
    by forcing them to spend too much energy distinguishing between languages,
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    a view based largely on flawed studies.
  • 00:03:54
    And while a more recent study did show
  • 00:03:56
    that reaction times and errors increase for some bilingual students
  • 00:03:59
    in cross-language tests,
  • 00:04:01
    it also showed that the effort and attention needed
  • 00:04:03
    to switch between languages triggered more activity in,
  • 00:04:06
    and potentially strengthened, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
  • 00:04:11
    This is the part of the brain that plays a large role
  • 00:04:14
    in executive function, problem solving, switching between tasks,
  • 00:04:18
    and focusing while filtering out irrelevant information.
  • 00:04:22
    So, while bilingualism may not necessarily make you smarter,
  • 00:04:26
    it does make your brain more healthy, complex and actively engaged,
  • 00:04:30
    and even if you didn't have the good fortune
  • 00:04:33
    of learning a second language as a child,
  • 00:04:35
    it's never too late to do yourself a favor
  • 00:04:37
    and make the linguistic leap from, "Hello,"
  • 00:04:40
    to, "Hola," "Bonjour" or "你好’s"
  • 00:04:43
    because when it comes to our brains a little exercise can go a long way.
Etiquetas
  • bilingualism
  • multilingualism
  • brain health
  • language acquisition
  • cognitive benefits
  • critical period hypothesis
  • executive function
  • grey matter
  • neurolinguistics
  • language types