Having a second language helps you to improve your thinking, reduces decision making biases and increases assertiveness. It also helps you to develop a prosocial attitude.
Adjectives Starting With Z
Unlike other alphabets, Z is not the first choice when it comes to adjectives. In fact, there are only 35 words that start with the letter Z, compared to the many thousands that start with the letter Q. Despite their limited use, adjectives that start with Z are still as important as the other letters in the alphabet.
The good news is that there are some cool Z-related words that are genuinely useful in the English language. For instance, a zebra is a black and white striped horse, native to Africa. Similarly, a snail is a slug-like creature, and it leaves behind a trail of slimy matter.
The best part is that Z-related words aren’t limited to describing a zebra or snail, but also describe a zigzag sweater pattern and a zeitgeisty novel. These are just a few of the many Z-related words that can help you get your point across in a readable manner.
Theory of Mind helps in the development of prosocial behaviors
Whether children are bilingual or not, the Theory of Mind (ToM) is a cognitive skill that is important to understanding the world around us. It allows people to know what’s going on in the heads of others, which is a useful social skill that can help with developing prosocial behavior.
ToM is a complex cognitive process that involves the ability to attribute mental states to other individuals. It is also associated with other foundational cognitive skills such as emotion knowledge and socioemotional skills.
It is not always clear how to best measure ToM. One method is the false-belief task. Another is the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test. The latter is an interactive mind-reading test that requires children to identify the different mental states from pictures of human eyes.
However, there is a dearth of longitudinal data about the performance of kids on the theory of mind. This is a missing link in the research literature. Typically, studies on ToM focus on young children.
Improves critical thinking
Among the many benefits of being bilingual, researchers have discovered that it enhances critical thinking. This has been shown in a study that analyzed the differences in critical thinking in written work among Japanese university students. It is also for maintaining fitness and lifestyle.
Unlike monolingual individuals, bilinguals have greater mental flexibility and are able to switch between languages quickly. This allows them to concentrate on the relevant aspects of a problem, rather than wasting time on irrelevant or competing perceptual information. These are skills that translate to better multitasking and conflict management.
While previous research has suggested that non-Western students struggle with critical thinking, a new study has found that being bilingual may be a natural way to improve their ability to think critically.
Dr Thomas Bak, a lecturer at Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, tested participants in 2008. He found that the ability to speak more than one language improved their performance on critical thinking tasks. He also found that being bilingual helped people make more creative decisions.
Another study, published in the journal Behavior Research Methods, compared the thinking skills of bilingual children to those of monolingual children. It was found that the bilingual children performed more accurately on tests that measured critical thinking skills, such as divergent thinking. They were also able to decipher misleading cues earlier than monolingual children.
Reduces decision-making biases
Using a foreign language has been shown to reduce decision-making biases. This is because a foreign language reduces the arousal level of emotion. The reduction in emotion may contribute to reduced cognitive biases in decision making. It is also possible that the use of a foreign language affects the framing effect. A framing effect is a tendency for people to behave altruistically in situations where they are helped rather than harmed.
In order to examine the effect of foreign language on the framing effect, two experiments were conducted. In the first experiment, a task was conducted in the target language, while in the second experiment, the participants performed the task in their native language. The researchers used electroencephalography (EEG) to study the neural responses of the bilinguals.
The results of both experiments indicated that foreign language use reduced the illusion of causality. However, the strength of this effect was different between the two languages. The foreign language group attributed significantly more blame than the L1 group in both experiments.
Increases assertiveness
Having an assertive attitude is crucial to a successful career. The ability to speak up can help one achieve goals and improve the working environment. However, many people don’t feel comfortable speaking up for fear of conflict. Assertive communication training programmes can strengthen a person’s attitude and encourage them to speak up.
Studies have found that bilinguals tend to be more assertive. They are also less likely to be shy. They also outperform monolinguals in reading tests. They are believed to be more empathetic. They also perform better on conflict management tasks.
The aim of the study was to examine the effect of an assertiveness communication workshop on Japanese nursing students’ behavioural intention to speak up. Third-year nursing students were recruited to participate in the study. Their demographic characteristics were collected and they were split into an intervention group and a control group. They completed a survey before the workshop and a survey after the workshop. The results show that the intervention group demonstrated stronger behavioural intentions to speak up.
