Reading and The Brain, Language and Strength
LikeDid you know that the younger you learn a new language, the better you become in its fluency as you get older?
Find Language Classes in London
Our brain structural network is also much stronger if we speak more than one language!
Some recent studies in neurology explore the benefits of speaking more than one language. It actually makes your brain much stronger! Have a look at a piece of writing I did on proficiency -
Another important factor that may affect the bilingual brain is proficiency. Archilla-Suerte et al. (2018) define proficiency as a measure of language that includes speaking, understanding, writing and reading. Schweter (2019) argues that proficiency is more important than the age of acquisition; Zhao et al. (2023) further argue that language acquisition is progressive, which can be affected by proficiency. Poleznyska and Bookheimer (2021) explain how there are primary and secondary modifiers that modulate and bring understanding of the neuroanatomical representation of language in the cerebrum in bilingual individuals, and one of the primary factors is language proficiency. Yurtsever, Anderson and Grundy (2023) argue however that it is not proficiency itself that should be measured, but rather the age of which proficiency is achieved through exposure to the second language. A recent study by DeLuca, Rothman and Pilatsikas (2018) found that the second language age of acquisition affected proficiency positively. DeLuca, Rothman and Pilatsikas’ (2018) longitudinal study specifically chose participants which were first tested on their english proficiency on a QPT test before including them in their study; findings suggested that participants who had immersion into their second language had a higher quality language output and higher proficiency. Higher proficiency suggested more opportunities to use both first and second language efficiently (DeLuca, Rothman & Pilatsikas, 2018).
A meta-analysis study by Cargnelutti, Tomasino and Fabbrio (2019) found that those with high proficiency had similar brain networks to those who acquired languages early and late in comparison to those who had low proficiency in their second language. This suggests that proficiency is an important factor when looking at the bilingual brain, and one that is more important than age of acquisition (Cargnelutti, Tomasino & Fabrrio, 2019). A study by Gulifer et al. (2018) further argues that proficiency has a major effect on control networks in the brain. In a study of 27 participants of which age of acquisition was a mean age of 8.4 years, data was collected through the use of a self-questionnaire and MRI scans; findings suggested that as proficiency increased and got stronger, inter-connectedness in the brain also increased (Cargnelutti, Tomasino & Fabbrio, 2019). Despite the fact that Cargnelutti, Tomasino and Fabbrio’s (2019) study provides insight into the power of high proficiency, the study does not give sufficient evidence as it is relatively small; the findings would have been more convincing if the author had considered repeating the study to bring clarity on how proficiency affects the cerebrum.
The best way to learn a new language, or even better your own is through reading!