Children who grow up learning two languages or bilingual are better at multi-tasking or working two or more activities at one time than children who learn only one language.
However, bilingual children are slower in building vocabulary.
The study was conducted on 104 children aged 6 years who only speak English with the children taking the two languages, namely Mandarin and English, French and English or Spanish and English.
However, bilingual children are slower in building vocabulary.
The study was conducted on 104 children aged 6 years who only speak English with the children taking the two languages, namely Mandarin and English, French and English or Spanish and English.
The children were asked to press a computer key when looking at a series of pictures of animals or colors. When the response was limited to just one category, all the children respond with the same speed.
But when the children had to change the category as well as pressing a different button for each category, bilingual children more quickly in making changes than children who only speak English.
The study, funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development TSB conducted by researchers from the University of York in Toronto and was featured in the journal Child Development.
"Simply put, the task of changing something is an indicator of the ability to multi-tasking," said Peggy McCardle, chief of Child Development and Behavior Branch at NICHD.
"Children or people who speak two languages have two sets of rules in a language they seem to mind and brain are set to be back and forth depending on the circumstances," he said as quoted by HealthDay, Monday (09/04/2012).
Children who only speak English has the highest score on the test vocabulary, grammar and meaning of English words. This is because they can focus on one language, while the bilingual child must divide his time to learn two languages, the researchers say.