7C. Bilingualism

• What is the trend regarding bilingualism worldwide?

  Bilingualism is increasingly common worldwide
• In which countries is bi- or multilingualism the norm?

  Luxembourg, Switzerland, Canada, India
• What is the estimated percentage of the world's population that is bilingual?

  At least half of the world's population
• What percentage of people in Europe reported daily use of a second language according to the European Commission data (2012)?

  24%
• What factors complicate the definition of bilingualism?

  Age of acquisition, frequency of use, proficiency
• Who provided a definition of bilingualism that includes everyday language use?

  Francois Grosjean
• What are the three important aspects of Grosjean's definition of bilingualism?

  Regular use, inclusivity, recognition of dialects
• What was the early view of bilingualism in the 18th and 19th centuries?

  Monolingualism was seen as ideal
• What did early studies by Saer suggest about bilingualism?

  Bilingualism caused mental confusion
• What were some methodological flaws in early studies on bilingualism?

  Unsuitable intelligence testing, weak language testing
• What did Peal and Lambert's study in the 1960s find about bilingual children?

  Bilingual children outperformed monolingual peers
• What advantages did Peal and Lambert conclude bilingualism provides?

  Mental flexibility and diverse mental abilities
• What is a disadvantage of bilingualism for children?

  Smaller vocabulary sizes in each language
• How does bilingualism affect initial language learning?

  It may cause a slight delay initially
• What is a potential advantage of bilingualism regarding vocabulary?

  Bilinguals may have larger combined vocabulary
• What cognitive advantages might bilinguals experience?

  Non-verbal cognitive advantages
• What does the bilingual advantage hypothesis suggest?

  Bilingualism benefits wider non-verbal cognition
• How do bilinguals manage their languages according to the Inhibitory Control Model?

  They suppress the non-target language
• What does language production involve according to the Inhibitory Control Model?

  Modifying levels of language activation
• What did Meuter & Allport find regarding language switching?

  Longer to switch to native than non-native
• What do slips of the tongue indicate in bilinguals?

  Less proficiency
• What does the amount of inhibition required depend on?

  Proficiency
• What is a challenge in bilingualism research?

  Diversity of bilingual experiences complicates study
• What does Abutalebi and Green's proposal suggest about bilingual language processing?

  Both languages processed in the same neural networks
• What does functional neuroimaging provide insight into?

  Cognitive control and language processing
• What are some practical advantages of bilingualism?

  Opens opportunities to live and work abroad
• How might bilingualism contribute to brain health?

  May delay onset of Alzheimer's symptoms
• By how many years might bilingualism delay Alzheimer's symptoms?

  About four years