THE SCIENCE BEHIND LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE: THE EFFECTS OF LEARNING ON THE BRAIN

The addition of new languages has long been held as an esteemed communicative and cultural ability, but a growing body of evidence from cognitive neuroscience suggests that the process of acquiring a second language has wide-reaching effects on the brain and its functions. The present paper reviews recent research that has established the neural and cognitive effects of multilingualism in humans over the course of development. Combining the evidence of neuroimaging, longitudinal studies and meta-analyses, this review looks at three areas in particular: (a) the structural and functional effects of learning a second language; (b) the role of multilingualism in enhancing executive function such as attention switching, inhibitory control and working memory; and (c) the effect of a bilingual background on cognitive reserve and late-onset dementia.

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