Do children who speak more than one language score higher on
cognitive tests? Yes, according to a new Canadian study.
Researchers say that bilingual students develop a deeper
understanding of the structure of language, an important skill
in learning to read and write. Cognitive tests study the mental
processes that allow us to perform daily functions such as
paying attention, solving problems, producing and understanding
language appropriately and making decisions. Does being
bilingual make a child smarter? Not necessarily, but previous
studies have shown that children who learn two languages from
birth are able to concentrate on the meaning of words better
than monolingual children and have an advantage in developing
multi-tasking skills. In the Canadian study, researchers
compared 104 six-year olds to measure their cognitive
development. Some children were English speaking only. Others
were Chinese-English bilinguals, French-English bilinguals, and
Spanish-English bilinguals. The experiments investigated th