Speaking more than one language is good for the brain

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In the early(1) nineteen fifties, researchers(2) found(3) that people scored(4) lower(5) on intelligence tests if they spoke(6)more than one language. Research in the nineteen sixties found theopposite(7).

     So which is it? Researchers presented their newest(8) studies in February at a meeting(9) of the American Association for theAdvancement (10) of Science.

  The latest evidence shows(11) that being bilingual does not necessarily make people smarter(12). But researcher Ellen Bialystok says it probably(13) does make you better at certain skills(14). She says: "Imagine driving down the highway(15).There are(16) many things that could(17) capture your attention and you really need to be able to(18) monitor all of them.

  Why would bilingualism make you any better at that?"And the answer, she says, is that bilingual people are often(20) better at controlling their attention -- a function called the executive control system. She says it is possibly the most important cognitive system we have.

   It is where all of our decisions about what to attend to(21), what to ignore and what to process are made. Ms. Bialystok is a psychology professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. She says the best method to measure(22) the executive control system is called the Stroop(23) Test.

   A person is shown words in different colors. The person has to ignore the word(24) but say the color. The problem is that the words are all names of colors. She explains(25): "So you would have the word 'blue' written(26) in red, but you have to say 'red.' But blue is just lighting up(27) all these circuits in your brain(28), and you really want to say 'blue.'

  So you need a mechanism to override(29) that so that you can say 'red.' That's the executive control system."Her work shows that bilingual people continually practice this function. They have to, because both(30) languages are active in their brain at the same time(31).

   They need to suppress(32) one to be able to speak in the other. This mental exercise might(33) help in other ways(34), too. Researchers say bilingual children(35) are better able to separate a word from its meaning(36), and more likely(37) to have friends from different cultures.

   Bilingual adults are often four to five years later than others in developing dementia or Alzheimer's disease(39). Foreign language(40) study has increased(41) in the United States. But linguist Alison Mackey at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. points out(42) that English-speaking countries are still far behind(43) the rest of the world. For VOA Special English I'm Carolyn Presutti.

Vocabulário

1.          Early = inicio 2.          Researchers = pesquisadores 3.          Found = descobriram 4.          Scored = registrar, marcar 5.          Lower = mais baixo, menos 6.          if they spoke = se eles falassem 7.          opposite = oposto 8.          newest = mais recente 9.          meeting = reunião 10. Advancement = avanço 11. Shows = mostra 12. Smarter = mais inteligentes 13. Probably = provavelmente 14. certain skills = certas habilidades 15. Highway = auto-estrada 16. There are = existem 17. could = poderia 18. to be able to = ser capaz de 19. Monitor = monitorar 20. Often = frequentemente 21. to attend to = prestar atenção a 22. Measure = medir 23. Stroop = Tempo de resposta a um estimulo visual 24. Word = palavra 25. Explains = explica 26. Written = escrito(a) 27. lighting up = iluminando, ativando 28. Brain = cérebro 29. Override = substituir 30. Both = ambos(as) 31. at the same time = ao mesmo tempo 32. Suppress = suprimir 33. Might = pode (possibilidade) 34. in other ways = de outras formas 35. Children = crianças 36. Meaning = significado 37. Likely = provável 38. Later = mais tarde, depois 39. Disease = doença 40. Foreign language = lingua estrangeira 41. Increased = aumentado 42. points out = ressaltar, salientar 43. far behind = muito para trás