New Research Reignites Debate on Whether Bilingualism Boosts Brain Health
A newly published analysis in The Economist revisits the decades-long debate on whether being bilingual actually benefits the brain, challenging long-held assumptions while highlighting persistent scientific uncertainty. With Thailand’s education system increasingly promoting English and Mandarin alongside Thai, the study’s findings carry particular weight for Thai families, educators, and policymakers contemplating the cognitive worth of learning an additional language.
For years, researchers have claimed that speaking two or more languages confers a host of cognitive advantages beyond mere linguistic prowess. In addition to opening doors to different cultural and professional opportunities, multilingualism has frequently been linked to improvements in “executive function”—an umbrella term covering skills like ignoring distractions, planning complex tasks, and adjusting one’s thinking as circumstances change. Widespread media coverage and popular science books have further fuelled the belief that bilingualism may even delay dementia, with some research suggesting bilinguals can experience the onset of dementia as much as four years later than monolinguals (The Economist).