Top 6 Benefits of Being Bilingual from Childhood: advantages of bilingualism and bilingual education

Curious about Why Bilingual is Better? If you want to know about the benefits of being bilingual on the human brain, and on children's brains in particular, look no further. Here we talk about the advantages of being bilingual and some of the benefits of bilingual education. This video is based on one of FabuLingua's top-performing blogs: "Why Bilingual Brains are Better". Check out that blog for more in-depth discussion and details on all the studies quoted. We explore bilingual vs. monolingual brains, and bilingualism vs. monolingualism in general. In particular, we explore the bilingual brain and consider bilingual child brain development, why it pays to be bilingual, and the impacts of bilingual education on children's brains. This video and its sister blog both focus on the brain benefits of bilingualism, and we learn that bilingual benefits reach beyond communication. We learn that the effects of bilingualism on the individual and on society go beyond improved communication between peoples, it shapes and improves the brain structure and brainpower of individuals that make up those societies, making them have higher brain density, with improved memory, focus and attention, better executive function and critical thinking skills and improved social emotional skills and higher levels of empathy. Those improved brain skills that arise from being bilingual are skills that make societies better and stronger and are a very positive outcome of bilingual classrooms, bilingual education, or of simply learning a second language from childhood as an extracurricular activity.
Curious about the easiest way to teach children a second language? Download FabuLingua's app on the App store or Google Play Store.
The advantages of being bilingual in today's society extend beyond well-researched brain benefits. To learn all about the social, cultural, and economic benefits of bilingualism check out FabuLingua's sister blog: "The Social Benefits of Bilingualism".
"The Brain Benefits of Being Bilingual"
Did you know that learning a new language affects the structure of children’s brains?
That's right, the benefits of being bilingual are not just about being able to speak another language - research has shown that bilingual education can change the brain in some fascinating ways. Let’s take a closer look at the top six brain benefits of bilingualism in kids.
#6: BILINGUAL BRAINS HAVE MORE GRAY & WHITE MATTER
As children grow into adults, the number of brain cells they have shrinks. Recent studies have found, though, that as bilinguals grow up, they retain more of the brain’s gray and white matter than monolingual children - and that makes them more intelligent, have better memory, and age better!
#5: BECOMING BILINGUAL AIDS FOCUS & ATTENTION
A popular misconception is that bilingual children become confused by learning more than one language at a time. However, scientists have found that learning and speaking multiple languages actually increases people’s capacity for focus and attention!
#4: BEING BILINGUAL FOSTERS ENHANCED COGNITION & HIGH EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING SKILLS
One of the most important cognitive achievements of childhood is the development of the executive-function system (which is the brain’s powerhouse located in the front of the brain). It allows us to set goals, develop a plan and execute it in order to run our lives successfully. Research has shown that bilingualism improves executive functioning not only in children, but in adults and seniors too!
#3: BECOMING BILINGUAL STIMULATES THE DEVELOPMENT OF CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS.
Scientists have found that bilingual children develop stronger capacities for classic thinking skills and outperform monolinguals in the areas of divergent thinking, pattern recognition, problem-solving and creative thinking.
#2: BENEFITS OF BEING BILINGUAL INCLUDE GREATER SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
Social-emotional skills are those really valuable ‘soft skills’ that help children to build personal connections, communicate effectively, and process emotions. Researchers have found that the more bilingual vocabulary a child has, and the longer they have been speaking a second language, the greater their social-emotional and behavioral skills are.
#1: BEING MULTILINGUAL FOSTERS A GREATER CAPACITY FOR EMPATHY
Studies have shown that both bilingual children and those exposed to multiple languages are able to understand other people’s perspectives and communicate more effectively, with less egocentric mentalities than completely monolingual children.
The benefits of bilingualism reach beyond just understanding other languages - it is clear that as far as the brain is concerned, being bilingual is better!
Check out our next video to learn about the other social, cultural and economic advantages to being bilingual in today's society.
Curious about the best way for kids to learn a new language? Download the FabuLingua app on the App Store or Google Play Store!