The Effect of Bilingualism on Cognitive Development in Children Review Article
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36473/ujhss.v62i4.2278Keywords:
Bilingualism, Monolingualism, Multilingualism , Cognitive skills, Young and Children, Cognitive DevelopmentAbstract
Bilingualism has become an increasingly common phenomenon in today’s globalized world, with many children growing up exposed to two or more languages. As a result, there has been growing interest among researchers in understanding the impact of bilingualism on thinking development in young and children. Some studies confirmed that bilingualism can have a positive effect on children’s perception cognitive development, particularly in the zones of attention control, Operational memory, and cognitive flexibility. Dual-language learners may also have better Planning and organization skills, such as task-switching and inhibitory control, compared to monolingual children. These cognitive advantages may be due to the cognitive demands of managing two languages, which can lead to increased cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills. Research also indicates that bilinguals may experience interference or facilitation effects in lexical access, depending on the degree of overlap between the two languages. However, other studies have failed to find a significant effect of bilingualism on cognitive development. Some researchers suggest that the there is a strong relationship between bilingual individuals and their cognitive development which may depend on a variety of factors, such as the age at which a child begins to learn a second language , and the amount he learns from each language , socio-economic background of the child and, level of proficiency that a person has in each language can affect their cognitive and linguistic abilities. Despite mixed guidance, potential benefits of bilingualism on cognitive development have important implications for both policy and education. Those in charge should consider designing specific educational programs for children from linguistically diverse backgrounds to help enhance their cognitive development.
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