Cognitive, academic and social aspects of bilingualism - Yale News
Language significantly shapes our thought processes and how we interact with one another. According to Yale experts, learning a second language increases cognitive capacities, makes one more culturally aware, expands perspective and broadens communication abilities.
“There are numerous practical benefits [to being bilingual],” Fernando Rubio, director of the Yale Center for Language Study and linguistics professor, said. “Bilingual individuals often possess soft skills that are highly valued by employers, such as adaptability, creativity, teamwork, communication skills, cross-cultural communication, empathy, problem-solving and critical thinking.”
Although it is often taken for granted, speaking is a complex cognitive process. In order to speak any language, the brain needs to use both long-term and working memory processes, engage attention as well as use motor control and abide by social norms, according to Maria Teresa Borneo GRD ’28, who is pursuing a doctorate in linguistics.
Borneo’s research at Yale’s Language & Brain Lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which language users combine different kinds of information, linguistic and nonlinguistic, to convey meaning.
“Research on the field [of bilingualism] has shown that the two language systems seem to be activated at all times, and that they affect each other, as well as affecting language processing in real-time,” Borneo said. “One example of this is code-switching, which involves going back and forth between languages.”