Investigation of the Social and Cognitive consequences of Bilingualism

Abstract

Bilingualism is when a person can understand and speak two languages, for example, understanding and speaking both English and Spanish. When it comes to bilingualism, it is seen as a tool to help communicate with others that speak other languages, such as Spanish, French, English and Chinese. Previous research has identified positive social aspects of bilingualism like communicating with others and having a sense of belonging, along with negative social aspects such as racism. Along with the social aspects, there is also the cognitive aspects like bilingualism helping with cognitive decline due to aging. The present study took a qualitative approach to addressing the social and cognitive consequences of bilingualism in a sample of American college students. Eight participants who identified as bilingual completed an online survey, in which they answered whether and how being bilingual has resulted in advantages and disadvantages in both the cognitive and social domains in their experience. The results showed that most participants could identify social and cognitive advantages and disadvantages to being bilingual, consistent with previous research. Based on this study, more research should be done to understand the lived experiences of bilingual students and adults, and how it relates to discrimination, racism, and performance at work and school.