In the dimly lit room, surrounded by comforting darkness, I was contemplating my HSK test, a standardized Chinese language test that I had to take in order to pass my qualification exam for a bilingual school in Pudong, Shanghai. I had hardly studied for the test, as I knew I could speak Chinese just fine for a test created for non-natives. But in the grand theater of thoughts, a linguistic ballet unfolded as three distinct realms of utterly different words and tones swirled and entwined within my brain, each language vying for the spotlight in my internal dialogue.
In one way I would think of the listening test, a deluge of Chinese characters of varying tones swept through my brain with the memory of the deafening headphone speaker that detonated my ears during the test. My brain filled with Chinese content that would soon alter to Korean words, swearing and complaining about the mistakes that I made as it was the language for complaint that I specialized in. Then it was the ultimate director of all thought processes, English as it was my academic language.
Each language produced discrete products of assumptions and ideas, as if different materials were used in an attempt to duplicate identical products; it would obviously churn out unalike products. This happened metaphorically within my brain as the three languages all created their own separate thoughts.
Language serves as a cognitive tool that structures and organizes our thoughts. It provides a framework for understanding the world and expressing our ideas. For bilingual and trilingual individuals, the sense of teamwork in various languages can bring significant influence to cognitive processes and the development of perception, particularly during adolescence.
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, a linguistic relativity hypothesis, posits that the languages that an individual is capable of speaking influences the way he or she thinks and perceives the world. The structure of a language affects its speakers’ worldview or cognition, such as the various ways in which Korean, Chinese, and English are structured in my case to influence my contemplation earlier. Therefore, individuals who are fluent in multiple languages may have a broader cognitive repertoire, as each language offers a unique set of linguistic tools for expressing thoughts and concepts.
Research has shown that multilingual individuals often demonstrate enhanced cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch between different tasks or thought processes. For instance, a study conducted by Bialystok and Viswanathan (2009) found that bilingual children outperform monolingual children in tasks that required cognitive flexibility. In addition, research by Ellen Bialystok, a leading expert in bilingualism, has consistently demonstrated the cognitive advantages of bilingualism, particularly in the domain of cognitive control. Bilingual individuals have shown enhanced abilities in inhibitory control, working memory, and attentional control, which are crucial for problem-solving and academic achievement.
Furthermore, When bilingual or trilingual adolescents think and process information, they often have to navigate between multiple linguistic systems, which can enhance their ability to adapt to new situations and think creatively. This is proven by my diverse viewpoints on my tests when using Korean as opposed to my objective perspective using Chinese as my interior monologue, and lastly thinking academically and outside the box with English.
There are also social advantages of multilingual individuals in addition to cognition problem-solving abilities. Multilingualism can significantly shape an individual's cultural identity during adolescence. The languages a person speaks can link them to different cultural communities, influencing their sense of belonging and self-perception. For instance, I have been exposed to various cultures starting from South Korea, China, various minority cultures in Korea including aspects of North Korean culture, American, and British cultures all together; I have a strong connection to all of these cultures. Also, multilingual adolescents generally exhibit a greater capacity for social integration and adaptability because they have the ability to communicate with a wider range of people from diversified cultural backgrounds. This leads to a more inclusive and open-minded approach to social interactions and relationships.
Finally, for those still in their adolescence it would be useful to know this: A study published in the journal Child Development revealed that bilingual children outperform monolingual children in tasks related to problem-solving and cognitive control!
What are your thoughts on languages? Perhaps it’s time to grab that Spanish textbook on your bookcase you had for ages and get started on it. NOW!
omw to get my spanish text book