Journal Entry 8–Ted Ed’s–The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain

Fig. 1. Still from Ted Ed’s website.

 

In this TED Ed video, Mia Nacamulli explains that being bilingual means you know two languages, while multilingual means you know more than two.  However, being bilingual isn’t just an external show of knowledge, bilinguals are also different internally – especially in the brain.  Nacamulli states that the brain of bilingual people actually looks and works differently than the brains of those who are monolingual (or who just know one language).

 

acamulli explains that language ability is measured in two parts: active and passive. In the active part, the tasks of speaking and writing happen, while in the passive parts, listening and reading take place. While a balanced bilingual has an almost equal ability in two languages, most bilinguals use their language in various degrees. This is determined by the age in which they were exposed to a second language.

Nacamulli states there are three classifications of bilinguals:

•Compound Bilinguals – individuals who were exposed to language at a very young age. These, individuals can learn two linguistic codes simultaneously with a single set of concepts as they learn the world around them.

•Coordinate Bilinguals – individuals who were exposed to a language as teenagers. They work with two sets of concepts, learning one language at school, but use their primary language at home.

•Subordinate Bilinguals – individuals who were exposed to a language as adults. They learn the language by filtering it through their own language.

 

n the 1960’s, it was incorrectly thought that being bilingual was harmful to children because it made them use too much energy to distinguishing between languages. However, Nacamulli states that the heightened workout a bilingual brain receives in its life can delay the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Dementia by five years.

acamulli also relates that while being bilingual might not necessary make you smarter, it does make your brain more healthy and more actively engaged. Additionally, she states it’s never too late to benefit from being a bilingual because even just learning a few words from a new language can go a long way.

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Works Cited:

Geleynse, Joyce. “alphabet-6916985_1280.” Pixabay, 22 Jan. 2022. https://pixabay.com/illustrations/alphabet-letters-decorated-letters-6916985/. Accessed 5 Sept. 2023.

Kavanagh, Tessa. “dictionary-2317654_1280.” Pixabay. 16 May 2017. https://pixabay.com/photos/dictionary-languages-learning-2317654/. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.

Nacamulli, Mia. "The Benefits of a Bilingual Brain." Ted-Ed, ed.ted.com/lessons/how-speaking-multiple-languages-benefits-the-brain-mia-nacamulli. Accessed 15 Oct. 2023.