Listed here are a few interesting basic facts about bilingualism.
One of the more surprising findings about bilingualism is the effect it has on our potential to exhibit empathy. Recent studies have shown that bilingual kids are much more likely to show empathy towards their classmates. Bilingualism and empathy seem like not related things at first, but if you consider the effects of knowing two linguistic systems it becomes clearer exactly why this happens. Knowing that there are at least two ways to communicate helps little children understand early on that men and women can think in different ways and can have various opinions. This can aid them become better communicators than their classmates, who take slightly longer to comprehend the same idea. People like Tidjane Thiam who speak numerous languages have most probably benefited from these superior empathy and communication abilities.
No one is going to refute that being in a position to speak two or more languages can bring a great deal of advantages into their life. To begin with, there are a number of social benefits of being bilingual. Being able to speak two languages indicates you can speak to a lot more men and women in their native language! This comes especially in handy when traveling. Even though many people nowadays speak English there are still so many places where people just speak the local language, particularly if it's a remote city or village. Having the ability to speak the local tongue will help you go out whenever you wish much easier. Besides such social advantages, there are actually also so many benefits of being bilingual in the workplace. Speaking foreign languages invariably looks rather good on a resume as any boss knows that an employee who can speak multiple languages can add a lot of merit to the team. A great many business people like Petar Cvetkovic speak numerous languages, which is something that has probably helped them at one time or another during their careers, and this is something that can likewise aid you in yours!
A great many individuals might not know this but one of the effects of bilingualism is that speaking multiple languages can change your brain and the way you think. The study field that deals with such effect of bilingualism on cognition is called psycholinguistics, and it has come to be specially prominent in the recent years. Many scientific reports in this field show that men and women like Madeleine Albright who speak more than one language display a much better performance in tasks that involve particular cognitive functions. This has led research to conclude that bilingualism advantages can entail improved attentional and multitasking skills. And what is even more surprising is that such an effect can be observed in young children as young as just a couple of months old. Such results likewise confirm the fact that small children can perceive and process language long before they begin to produce speech!