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149-556: Children who learn more than one language from birth or at a very young age are considered bilingual or multilingual . These children can be said to have two, three, or more mother tongues, meaning these languages would not be considered foreign to them, even if one language is a foreign language for the majority of people in the child's birth country. For instance, a child learning English from their English parent and Irish at school in Ireland can speak both English and Irish, but neither

298-610: A European Commission survey found that 61% of respondents in the UK were unlikely to speak any language other than their mother tongue (page 5). Since the 1990s, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages has tried to standardise the learning of languages across Europe. An article from The Atlantic claims that only 1 percent of the adults within the US population consider themselves proficient in speaking

447-744: A computer program or any other instrument that assists a non-native language user (also referred to as a foreign language learner) in writing decently in their target language. Assistive operations can be classified into two categories: on-the-fly prompts and post-writing checks. Assisted aspects of writing include: lexical , syntactic (syntactic and semantic roles of a word's frame), lexical semantic (context/collocation-influenced word choice and user-intention-driven synonym choice) and idiomatic expression transfer, etc. Different types of foreign language writing aids include automated proofreading applications, text corpora , dictionaries , translation aids and orthography aids. The four major components in

596-412: A "threshold" literacy proficiency. Some researchers use age three as the age when a child has basic communicative competence in their first language (Kessler, 1984). Children may go through a process of sequential acquisition if they migrate at a young age to a country where a different language is spoken, or if the child exclusively speaks his or her heritage language at home until he or she is immersed in

745-440: A bilingual or multilingual person can earn much more than a computer programmer or engineer because they can use their abilities in foreign language to obtain success in a wide range of career paths. In addition, due to the increase in the number of people from different parts of the world, a multilingual person can more easily communicate with prospective customers. Also in 2004, a study by University College London (UCL) examined

894-420: A certain justification, it is perhaps less important than it has sometimes been made out to be and it may be misleading. He notes that the distinction became popular after World War II in international organisations, such as UNESCO , in order to meet nationalist susceptibilities in discussions on language questions. Fasold and Connor-Linton (2006), Falk (1978) and Hudson (2000) provide similar definitions for

1043-601: A certain very marginally enhanced or no different executive function , and older onset for dementia . More recently, however, this claim has come under strong criticism with repeated failures to replicate. Yet, many prior studies do not reliably quantify samples of bilinguals under investigation. An emerging perspective is that studies on bilingual and multilingual cognitive abilities need to account for validated and granular quantifications of language experience in order to identify boundary conditions of possible cognitive effects. Second language acquisition results in

1192-972: A collection of a single learner’s regularly misspelled words, is tailored to the individual and can be expanded with new entries that the learner does not know how to spell or contracted when the learner had mastered the words. Learners also use the personal spelling dictionary more than electronic spellcheckers, and additions can be easily made to better enhance it as a learning tool as it can include things like rules for writing and proper nouns, which are not included in electronic spellcheckers. Studies also suggest that personal spelling dictionaries are better tools for learners to improve their spelling as compared to trying to memorize words that are unrelated from lists or books. Current research have shown that language learners utilise dictionaries predominantly to check for meanings and that bilingual dictionaries are preferred over monolingual dictionaries for these uses. Bilingual dictionaries have proved to be helpful for learners of

1341-529: A consequence of objectively high lexical and grammatical similarities between the languages themselves (e.g., Norwegian and Swedish), whereas the former is a property of one or more persons and is determined by subjective or intersubjective factors such as the respective languages' prevalence in the life history (including family upbringing, educational setting, and ambient culture) of the person or persons. In sequential bilingualism , learners receive literacy instruction in their native language until they acquire

1490-432: A continuum between internationalization and localization : Translating the user interface is usually part of the software localization process, which also includes adaptations such as units and date conversion. Many software applications are available in several languages, ranging from a handful (the most spoken languages ) to dozens for the most popular applications (such as office suites , web browsers , etc.). Due to

1639-524: A culture; it is not universal. Rhetoric , then, is not universal either, but varies from culture to culture and even from time to time within a given culture. Language teachers know how to predict the differences between pronunciations or constructions in different languages, but they might be less clear about the differences between rhetoric, that is, in the way they use language to accomplish various purposes, particularly in writing. People who learn multiple languages may also experience positive transfer –

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1788-430: A dictionary would be the indexing and information given; the words in thesaurus are grouped by meaning, usually without definitions, while the latter is by alphabetical order with definitions. When users are unable to find a word in a dictionary, it is usually due to the constraint of searching alphabetically by common and well-known headwords and the use of a thesaurus eliminates this issue by allowing users to search for

1937-403: A foreign language is not always a foreign language and a second language is not always a second language. Since the distinction is geographical, the two situations (learning second language and learning foreign language) can be considered as a continuum. At one extreme, we may find learners learning without external help and direction purely from exposure to the non-native language through living in

2086-493: A foreign language is not only useful for practical purposes, but also beneficial for cognitive, social and personal development. It can improve one's brain power, memory, concentration, creativity, communication skills and cultural awareness. It can also open up new opportunities for education, work and travel. Therefore, learning a foreign language is a worthwhile investment for anyone who wants to enrich their lives and broaden their horizons. Although significant differences between

2235-561: A foreign language writing aid should provide interaction and feedback so as to ease the learning process. This complements communicative language teaching (CLT); which is a teaching approach that highlights interaction as both the means and aim of learning a language. In accordance with the simple view of writing, both lower-order and higher-order skills are required. Lower-order skills involve those of spelling and transcription , whereas higher order-skills involve that of ideation; which refers to idea generation and organisation. Proofreading

2384-538: A foreign language. This is in stark contrast to many other countries, where the percentage is much higher. Even though there are many benefits that come with learning a foreign language, schools across the United States continue to cut foreign language from their budgets. In recent years, computer-assisted language learning has been integrated into foreign-language education and computer programs with varying levels of interactional relationship between computer and

2533-456: A global lingua franca , sometimes results in majority bilingualism even when the countries in question have just one domestic official language. This occurs especially in regions such as Scandinavia and the Benelux , as well as among Germanophones , but the phenomenon has also been expanding into some non-Germanic countries. One view is that of the linguist Noam Chomsky in what he calls

2682-444: A good indicator of a learner’s acquisition and comprehension of alphabetic principles in the target language. Documented data on misspelling patterns indicate that majority of misspellings fall under the four categories of letter insertion, deletion, transposition and substitution. In languages where pronunciation of certain sequences of letters may be similar, misspellings may occur when the non-native language learner relies heavily on

2831-722: A language (including but not limited to its idioms and eponyms ) without first understanding the culture and history of the region in which that language evolved, as a practical matter an in-depth familiarity with multiple cultures is a prerequisite for high-level multilingualism. This knowledge of cultures individually and comparatively can form an important part of both what one considers one's identity to be and what others consider that identity to be. Some studies have found that groups of multilingual individuals get higher average scores on tests for certain personality traits such as cultural empathy , open-mindedness and social initiative. The idea of linguistic relativity , which claims that

2980-644: A lexical deficit due to second language acquisition and bilingualism results in decreased verbal fluency. Bilingual and multilingual individuals are shown to have superior auditory processing abilities compared to monolingual individuals. Several investigations have compared auditory processing abilities of monolingual and bilingual individuals using tasks such as gap detection, temporal ordering, pitch pattern recognition etc. In general, results of studies have reported superior performance among bilingual and multilingual individuals. Furthermore, among bilingual individuals, one's level of proficiency in one's second language

3129-448: A manual version, thus minimising the disruption to the flow of writing. Online dictionaries available can be found under the list of online dictionaries . Dictionaries come in different levels of proficiency; such as advanced, intermediate and beginner, which learners can choose accordingly to the level best suited to them. There are many different types of dictionaries available; such as thesaurus or bilingual dictionaries, which cater to

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3278-576: A medium of instruction in schools and is not widely used as a medium of communication in government, media, etc. They note that foreign languages are typically taught as school subjects for the purpose of communicating with foreigners or for reading printed materials in the language. For example, French is a foreign language for most people in England. However, French is not a foreign language for most people in France. Crystal (2003) notes that first language

3427-466: A native language but who have children who do speak English natively, usually in part because those children's education has been conducted in English; while the immigrant parents can understand both their native language and English, they speak only their native language to their children. If their children are likewise receptively bilingual but productively English-monolingual, throughout the conversation

3576-405: A necessary distinction is to be made between a non-native language learnt and used within one country to which the term second language has been applied and a non-native language learnt and used with reference to a speech community outside national or territorial boundaries to which the term foreign language is commonly given. He argues that while the distinction between 'second' and 'foreign' has

3725-578: A neutral and detached source. Apart from learners' confidence in writing, their motivation and attitudes will also improve through the use of computers. Foreign language learners' awareness of the conventions in writing can be improved through reference to guidelines showing the features and structure of the target genre. At the same time, interactions and feedback help to engage the learners and expedite their learning, especially with active participation. In online writing situations, learners are isolated without face-to-face interaction with others. Therefore,

3874-421: A new language, although in general, they hold less extensive coverage of information as compared to monolingual dictionaries. Nonetheless, good bilingual dictionaries capitalize on the fact that they are useful for learners to integrate helpful information about commonly known errors, false friends and contrastive predicaments from the two languages. Studies have shown that learners of English have benefited from

4023-772: A new one. Once they pass an age that seems to correlate closely with the critical period , around the age of 12, total loss of a native language is not typical, although it is still possible for speakers to experience diminished expressive capacity if the language is never practiced. There is no evidence for a bilingual advantage in executive function and there is a small bilingual disadvantage in verbal fluency. Some initial reports concluded that people who use more than one language have been reported to be more adept at language learning compared to monolinguals, and this idea persisted in part due to publication bias . Current meta-analyses find no effect. Individuals who are highly proficient in two or more languages have been reported to have

4172-422: A prodigious capacity for languages. Savant syndrome is almost always associated with an increased memory capacity of some sort, which can, for certain savants, aid in storing and retrieving knowledge of different languages. In 1991, for example, linguists Neil Smith and Ianthi-Maria Tsimpli described a man, named Christopher, who learned sixteen languages even with a non-verbal IQ between 40 and 70. Christopher

4321-524: A school setting where instruction is offered in a different language. In simultaneous bilingualism , the native language and the community language are simultaneously taught. The advantage is literacy in two languages as the outcome. However, the teacher must be well-versed in both languages and also in techniques for teaching a second language. The phases children go through during sequential acquisition are less linear than for simultaneous acquisition and can vary greatly among children. Sequential acquisition

4470-601: A second language early on have different ways of expressing themselves, which helps them better understand that there is more than one way to look at a problem and that there is more than one solution. Another benefit of learning a foreign language is that it improves one's attention span and ability to multitask. A study by the University of the Potomac found that bilinguals have better control over their attention and can switch between tasks more easily than monolinguals. This

4619-526: A second language, and Persian speakers study English in Britain as a second language. Meanwhile, people in Kurdistan can speak of learning Kurdish by Persian speakers as a second rather than foreign language. The purposes of second-language learning are often different from foreign-language learning. Second language is needed for full participation in the political and economic life of the nation, because it

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4768-453: A shift in situation or context, independent of language." However, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, which states that a language shapes our vision of the world, may suggest that a language learned by a grown-up may have much fewer emotional connotations and therefore allow a more serene discussion than a language learned by a child and to that respect more or less bound to a child's perception of

4917-439: A small fraction of all the possible syntactic structures. Grammar checkers are unable to detect semantic errors in a correctly structured syntax order; i.e. grammar checkers do not register the error when the sentence structure is syntactically correct but semantically meaningless. Although grammar checkers have largely been concentrated on ensuring grammatical writing, majority of them are modelled after native writers, neglecting

5066-411: A specific script to write a language according to a conventionalised usage. One’s ability to read in a language is further enhanced by a concurrent learning of writing. This is because writing is a means of helping the language learner recognise and remember the features of the orthography, which is particularly helpful when the orthography has irregular phonetic-to-spelling mapping. This, in turn, helps

5215-442: A strategy where proficiency is lacking. Such strategies are common if the vocabulary of one of the languages is not very elaborated for certain fields, or if the speakers have not developed proficiency in certain lexical domains, as in the case of immigrant languages. This code-switching appears in many forms. If a speaker has a positive attitude towards both languages and towards code-switching, many switches can be found, even within

5364-608: A system similar to writing tablets albeit on computers, at the same time providing feedback on stroke ordering and progress. Handwriting recognition is supported on certain programs, which help language learners in learning the orthography of the target language. Practice of orthography is also available in many applications, with tracing systems in place to help learners with stroke orders. Apart from online orthography programs, offline orthography aids for language learners of logographic languages are also available. Character cards, which contain lists of frequently used characters of

5513-460: A target language may not be sufficiently catered for. This is because generic spell checkers function on the assumption that their users are competent speakers of the target language, whose misspellings are primarily due to accidental typographical errors. The majority of misspellings were found to be attributed to systematic competence errors instead of accidental typographical ones, with up to 48% of these errors failing to be detected or corrected by

5662-553: A third European language). On average in Europe, at the start of foreign-language teaching, learners have lessons for three to four hours a week. Compulsory lessons in a foreign language normally start at the end of primary school or the start of secondary school . In Luxembourg , Norway and Malta , however, the first foreign language is studied at age six, and in Flanders at age 10. In Wales , all children are taught Welsh from

5811-445: A unitary self, but to enact different kinds of selves, and different linguistic contexts create different kinds of self-expression and experiences for the same person." However, there has been little rigorous research done on this topic and it is difficult to define "personality" in this context. François Grosjean wrote: "What is seen as a change in personality is most probably simply a shift in attitudes and behaviors that correspond to

5960-628: A way to provide developers a set of free tooling that enabled adding languages to their apps with just a few clicks, in large part due to the integration of a free, unlimited license to both the Microsoft Translator machine translation service and the Microsoft Language Platform service, along with platform extensibility to enable anyone to add translation services into MAT. Microsoft engineers and inventors of MAT Jan A. Nelson and Camerum Lerum have continued to drive

6109-469: A word through another word based on concept. Foreign language learners can make use of thesaurus to find near synonyms of a word to expand their vocabulary skills and add variety to their writing. Many word processors are equipped with a basic function of thesaurus, allowing learners to change a word to another similar word with ease. However, learners must be mindful that even if the words are near synonyms, they might not be suitable replacements depending on

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6258-415: A year later found that switching to a second language seems to exempt bilinguals from social norms and constraints, such as political correctness . In 2014, another study showed that people using a foreign language are more likely to make utilitarian decisions when faced with moral dilemmas, such as the trolley problem and its variations. Participants in this study chose the utilitarian option more often in

6407-460: Is a cognitive process , rather than a language acquisition device, as the school led by Stephen Krashen suggests, there would only be relative, not categorical, differences between the two types of language learning. Rod Ellis quotes research finding that the earlier children learn a second language, the better off they are, in terms of pronunciation . European schools generally offer secondary language classes for their students early on, due to

6556-478: Is a foreign language for them. This situation is common in countries like India , South Africa , or Canada , which have multiple official languages. In general, it is believed that children have an advantage in learning foreign languages compared to adults. However, studies have shown that pre-existing knowledge of language and grammar rules, as well as a superior ability to memorize vocabulary, may benefit adults when learning foreign languages. Most schools around

6705-613: Is a fusion of two or more languages that is grammatically simplified but can be understood by native speakers of any of the original languages. Some pidgins develop into "real" creole languages (such as Papiamento in Curaçao or Singlish in Singapore ), while others simply evolve into slangs or jargons (such as Helsinki slang , which remains more or less mutually intelligible with standard Finnish and Swedish). In other cases, prolonged influence of languages on each other may have

6854-422: Is a more complex and lengthier process, although there is no indication that non-language-delayed children end up less proficient than simultaneous bilinguals, so long as they receive adequate input in both languages. A coordinate model posits that equal time should be spent in separate instruction of the native language and the community language. The native language class, however, focuses on basic literacy while

7003-457: Is a second language for Kurdish people , but not vice versa, because there is no Kurdish environment for Persian speakers who are learning Kurdish . On the other hand, English is a foreign language for both groups, because there is no contact between Kurdish and Persian people with English people. However, if an Iranian person goes to United States , then English becomes a second language for them. Thus, British immigrants to Iran learn Persian as

7152-585: Is also highly used in Canada, wherein anglophone students spend all of most of their lessons learning the materials in French. In 1995, the European Commission 's White Paper on Education and Training emphasised the importance of schoolchildren learning at least two foreign languages before upper secondary education. The Lisbon Summit of 2000 defined languages as one of the five key skills. Despite

7301-399: Is as old as the very existence of different languages. Today, evidence of multilingualism in an area includes things such as bilingual signs , which represent the same message in more than one language. Historical examples include glosses in textual sources, which can provide notes in a different language from the source text; macaronic texts which mix together two or more languages with

7450-591: Is based on the observation of the Swedish language in Finland in environments such as schools is subordinated to the majority language Finnish for practical and social reasons, despite the positive characteristics associated with mutual language learning. Whenever two people meet, negotiations take place. If they want to express solidarity and sympathy, they tend to seek common features in their behavior. If speakers wish to express distance towards or even dislike of

7599-407: Is because bilinguals have to constantly monitor which language they are using and suppress the interference from the other language. This mental exercise trains their executive function , which is responsible for planning, organizing, problem-solving and decision-making . Learning a foreign language also boosts one's creativity, as it exposes them to new ways of expressing ideas and thinking outside

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7748-424: Is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population . More than half of all Europeans claim to speak at least one language other than their mother tongue ; but many read and write in one language. Being multilingual is advantageous for people wanting to participate in trade, globalization and cultural openness. Owing to the ease of access to information facilitated by

7897-443: Is common for young simultaneous bilinguals to be more proficient in one language than the other. People who speak more than one language have been reported to be better at language learning when compared to monolinguals. Multilingualism in computing can be considered part of a continuum between internationalization and localization . Due to the status of English in computing , software development nearly always uses it (but not in

8046-458: Is distinguishable from second language (a language other than one's mother-tongue used for a special purpose, e.g. for education, government) distinguishable in turn from foreign language (where no such special status is implied). He also notes that the distinction between the latter two is not universally recognised (especially not in the US). Stern (1983) believes that there is today consensus that

8195-431: Is easier in the case of second-language learning and the emotional role of language (as opposed to communicational role) is easier to use for learners. The major characteristics of the planned condition of the classroom in the case of foreign-language learning as opposed to natural conditions of second-language learning are: There are some other issues in teaching and learning foreign language and second language including

8344-400: Is essential to employ a variety of language learning strategies and techniques, tailored to the specific learner's needs and goals, to maximize language acquisition and learning. Multilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language , either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called Bilingualism . It

8493-474: Is frequently the official language or one of two or more recognised languages. It may be the language needed for education. Among the purposes of foreign-language learning are traveling abroad, communication with native speakers, reading foreign literature or scientific and technical works. There are some major differences between foreign and second language teaching and learning. In second-language learning, one can receive input for learning both inside and outside

8642-478: Is generally referred to as a polyglot , a term that may also refer to people who learn multiple languages as a hobby. Multilingual speakers have acquired and maintained at least one language during childhood, the so-called first language (L1). The first language (sometimes also referred to as the mother tongue) is acquired without formal education, by mechanisms heavily disputed. Children acquiring two languages in this way are called simultaneous bilinguals. Even in

8791-411: Is helpful for non-native language users in minimising errors while writing in a foreign language. Spell checkers and grammar checkers are two applications that aid in the automatic proofreading process of written work. To achieve writing competence in a non-native language, especially in an alphabetic language, spelling proficiency is of utmost importance. Spelling proficiency has been identified as

8940-416: Is informal, free, undirected, and naturalistic. Conversely, in the case of foreign language learning, educational treatment may offer opportunities primarily for learning. However, it is important to note that acquisition can occur in the case of foreign-language learning, and learning can occur in the case of second-language learning. For example, immigrants to the US may attend language teaching classes in

9089-547: Is no consistent definition of what constitutes a distinct language. For instance, scholars often disagree whether Scots is a language in its own right or merely a dialect of English . Furthermore, what is considered a language can change, often for purely political reasons. One example is the creation of Serbo-Croatian as a standard language on the basis of the Eastern Herzegovinian dialect to function as umbrella for numerous South Slavic dialects; after

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9238-533: Is not uncommon for speakers to use a different language within the same conversation. This phenomenon is found, amongst other places, in Scandinavia . Most speakers of Swedish , Norwegian and Danish can communicate with each other speaking their respective languages, while few can speak both (people used to these situations often adjust their language, avoiding words that are not found in the other language or that can be misunderstood). Using different languages

9387-414: Is one form of language contact . Multilingualism was common in the past: in early times, when most people were members of small language communities, it was necessary to know two or more languages for trade or any other dealings outside one's town or village, and this holds good today in places of high linguistic diversity such as Sub-Saharan Africa and India . Linguist Ekkehard Wolff estimates that 50% of

9536-410: Is recognized as one of the seven major applications of Natural Language Processing and every project in this field aims to build grammar checkers into a writing aid instead of a robust man-machine interface. Currently, grammar checkers are incapable of inspecting the linguistic or even syntactic correctness of text as a whole. They are restricted in their usefulness in that they are only able to check

9685-434: Is someone who can communicate in more than one language actively (through speaking, writing, or signing). Multilingual people can logically speak any language they write in (aside from mute multilingual people ), but they cannot necessarily write in any language they speak. More specifically, bilingual and trilingual people are those in comparable situations involving two or three languages, respectively. A multilingual person

9834-477: Is used to refer to several varieties of language resources, it is most commonly known as a book that groups words in synonym clusters and related meanings. Its original sense of 'dictionary or encyclopedia' has been overshadowed by the emergence of the Roget-style thesaurus and it is considered as a writing aid as it helps writers with the selection of words. The differences between a Roget-style thesaurus and

9983-742: Is usually called non-convergent discourse , a term introduced by the Dutch linguist Reitze Jonkman. To a certain extent, this situation also exists between Dutch and Afrikaans , although everyday contact is fairly rare because of the distance between the two respective communities. Another example is the former state of Czechoslovakia , where two closely related and mutually intelligible languages ( Czech and Slovak ) were in common use. Most Czechs and Slovaks understand both languages, although they would use only one of them (their respective mother tongue) when speaking. For example, in Czechoslovakia, it

10132-401: Is viewed as a natural, unconscious, untaught, and possibly unteachable process, while learning is seen as more artificial, usually conscious and possibly dependent on instruction and study. This distinction between acquisition and learning can be useful in discussing language learning, as the general conditions in the case of second language acquisition offer opportunities for acquisition, as it

10281-589: The Michel Thomas Language Centre in the United Kingdom conducted a study that found that speaking a second language could increase an average worker's salary by £3000 (€3 300) a year, or £145 000 (€159 000) in a lifetime, and are also more likely to be more successful with the opposite sex. Further results showed that nine out of 10 British companies thought their businesses could benefit from better language skills. Studies show that

10430-513: The semantic prosody ; i.e. appropriate choices of words to be used in positive and negative co-texts, is available as reference for non-native language users in writing. The corpora can also be used to check for the acceptability or syntactic "grammaticality" of their written work. A survey conducted on English as a Second Language (ESL) students revealed corpus activities to be generally well received and thought to be especially useful for learning word usage patterns and improving writing skills in

10579-471: The Fat Man dilemma when it was presented in a foreign language. For the related Switch Track dilemma, however, the use of a foreign language presented no significant influence on the choices participants made. The authors of this study surmised that a foreign language lacks the emotional impact of one's native language. Because it is difficult or impossible to master many of the high-level semantic aspects of

10728-615: The Internet, individuals' exposure to multiple languages has become increasingly possible. People who speak several languages are also called polyglots . Multilingual speakers have acquired and maintained at least one language during childhood, the so-called first language (L1). The first language (sometimes also referred to as the mother tongue) is usually acquired without formal education, by mechanisms about which scholars disagree. Children acquiring two languages natively from these early years are called simultaneous bilinguals . It

10877-560: The US or the learning of Catalan by speakers of Spanish in Catalonia (an autonomous region of Spain) are cases of second (not foreign) language learning, because those languages are necessary for survival in those societies. English is also a second language for many people in countries like Nigeria , India , Singapore and the Philippines (plus Spanish), because English fulfills many important functions in those countries (including

11026-439: The acquisition of a language are namely; listening , speaking , reading and writing . While most people have no difficulties in exercising these skills in their native language, doing so in a second or foreign language is not that easy. In the area of writing, research has found that foreign language learners find it painstaking to compose in the target language, producing less eloquent sentences and encountering difficulties in

11175-724: The box. Learning a foreign language also has positive effects on one's first language. According to the Cambridge Assessment English blog, learning another language helps students improve their literacy skills in their native language, as they become more aware of grammar , vocabulary and sentence structure . Learning a foreign language also enhances one's understanding of other cultures and perspectives, as they can access more information and entertainment sources in different languages and communicate with people from diverse backgrounds. This can foster empathy , tolerance and respect for others. In summary, learning

11324-402: The brains of 105 people who could speak more than one language. The study found that people who learned a second language when younger had denser grey matter than those who learned one later. Grey matter is an area of the brain where information is most efficiently processed, due to the function of specialized cells called neurons. The researchers concluded that learning a second language changes

11473-566: The breakup of Yugoslavia , it was split into Serbian , Croatian , Bosnian and Montenegrin . Another example is the historical dismissal of Ukrainian as a Russian dialect by the Russian tsars to discourage national feelings. Many small independent nations' schoolchildren are today compelled to learn multiple languages because of international interactions. For example, in Finland, all children are required to learn at least three languages:

11622-401: The business of education and government) and Learning English is necessary to be successful within that context. (Some people in these countries however may acquire English as a first language, if it is the main language used at home)." They also define a foreign language as a language which is not the native language of large numbers of people in a particular country of region, is not used as

11771-456: The case of non-English-based programming languages ). Some commercial software is initially available in an English version, and multilingual versions, if any, may be produced as alternative options based on the English original. The first recorded use of the word multilingual in the English language occurred in the 1830s. The word is a combination of multi- ("many") and - lingual ("pertaining to languages"). The phenomenon of multilingualism

11920-923: The case of simultaneous bilinguals, one language usually dominates over the other. In linguistics, first language acquisition is closely related to the concept of a "native speaker". According to a view widely held by linguists, a native speaker of a given language has in some respects a level of skill that a second (or subsequent) language learner cannot easily accomplish. Consequently, descriptive empirical studies of languages are usually carried out using only native speakers. This view is, however, slightly problematic, particularly as many non-native speakers demonstrably not only successfully engage with and in their non-native language societies, but in fact may become culturally and even linguistically important contributors (as, for example, writers, politicians, media personalities and performing artists) in their non-native language. In recent years, linguistic research has focused attention on

12069-407: The classroom. They can readily put to use what is learned, as can the child learning its first language, so much naturalistic practice is possible. Second-language learners are usually more successful in developing non-native language skills and what is learned may be essential for getting along in the community, so motivation is stronger. Acculturation that is a main aspect of learning a language

12218-517: The community according to the functional distribution of the languages involved: Note that the terms given above all refer to situations describing only two languages. In cases of an unspecified number of languages, the terms polyglossia , omnilingualism , and multipart-lingualism are more appropriate. Taxell's paradox refers to the notion that monolingual solutions are essential to the realization of functional bilingualism, with multilingual solutions ultimately leading to monolingualism. The theory

12367-411: The community language class focuses on listening and speaking skills. Being bilingual does not necessarily mean that one can speak, for example, English and French. Research has found that the development of competence in the native language serves as a foundation of proficiency that can be transposed to the second language – the common underlying proficiency hypothesis. Cummins' work sought to overcome

12516-421: The context. Spelling dictionaries are referencing materials that specifically aid users in finding the correct spelling of a word. Unlike common dictionaries, spelling dictionaries do not typically provide definitions and other grammar-related information of the words. While typical dictionaries can be used to check or search for correct spellings, new and improved spelling dictionaries can assist users in finding

12665-493: The correct spelling of words even when the user does not know the first alphabet or knows it imperfectly. This circumvents the alphabetic ordering limitations of a classic dictionary. These spelling dictionaries are especially useful to foreign language learners as inclusion of concise definitions and suggestions for commonly confused words help learners to choose the correct spellings of words that sound alike or are pronounced wrongly by them. A personal spelling dictionary, being

12814-495: The definitions of second language and foreign language may be hard to find as the two terms are often taken as synonyms, research has been carried out to shed light on the differentiating traits of the two. The distinction between acronyms TESL (Teaching of English as a Second Language) and TEFL (Teaching of English as a Foreign Language) shows the attention different researchers have paid to the concepts of foreign language and second language. Richards and Schmidt (2002: 472) provide

12963-425: The development of new languages by forming connections from one language to another. Second language acquisition results in a lexical deficit. Receptive bilinguals are those who can understand a second language but who cannot speak it or whose abilities to speak it are inhibited by psychological barriers. Receptive bilingualism is frequently encountered among adult immigrants to the U.S. who do not speak English as

13112-399: The development of the tools, working with third parties and standards bodies to ensure that broad availability of multilingual app development is provided. With the release of Windows 10, MAT is now delivering support for cross-platform development for Universal Windows Platform apps as well as for iOS and Android apps. Foreign-language writing aid A foreign language writing aid is

13261-494: The early 1990s, however, confirmed that students who do complete bilingual instruction perform better academically. These students exhibit more cognitive flexibility , including a better ability to analyze abstract visual patterns. Students who receive bidirectional bilingual instruction where equal proficiency in both languages is required will perform at an even higher level. Examples of such programs include international and multi-national education schools. A multilingual person

13410-701: The effect of changing one or both of them to the point a new, non-creole language is born. For example, many linguists believe that the Occitan language and the Catalan language were formed because a population speaking a single Occitano-Romance language was divided by the political spheres of influence of France and Spain, respectively. Yiddish is a complex blend of Middle High German with Hebrew and also has borrowings from Slavic languages. Bilingual interaction can even take place without speakers switching between languages or fusing them together. In certain areas, it

13559-535: The exclusive use of another language, and effectively "become native" in a language that was once secondary after the L1 undergoes total attrition. This is most commonly seen among immigrant communities and has been the subject of substantial academic study. The most important factor in spontaneous, total L1 loss appears to be age; in the absence of neurological dysfunction or injury, only young children typically are at risk of forgetting their native language and switching to

13708-419: The expectation that the reader will understand both; the existence of separate sacred and vernacular languages (such as Church Latin vs. common forms of Latin , and Hebrew vs. Aramaic and Jewish languages ); and the frequency of linguistic borrowings and other results of language contact . The definition of multilingualism is a subject of debate in the same way as that of language fluency. At one end of

13857-406: The expectations of the native reader. Foreign students who have mastered syntactic structures have still demonstrated an inability to compose adequate themes, term papers, theses, and dissertations. Robert B. Kaplan describes two key words that affect people when they learn a second language. Logic in the popular, rather than the logician's sense of the word, is the basis of rhetoric, evolved out of

14006-417: The family as a whole, but the linguistic differences between the family's generations often constitute little or no impairment to the family's functionality. Receptive bilingualism in one language as exhibited by a speaker of another language, or even as exhibited by most speakers of that language, is not the same as mutual intelligibility of languages; the latter is a property of a pair of languages , namely

14155-420: The first language. Another new development that has influenced the linguistic argument for bilingual literacy is the length of time necessary to acquire a second language. Previously, children were believed to have the ability to learn a language within a year, but today, researchers believe that within and across academic settings, the period is closer to five years. An interesting outcome of studies during

14304-406: The first year of primary school. The Welsh language is also compulsory up to the age of 16, although a formal GCSE qualification is optional. In some countries, learners have lessons taken entirely in a foreign language: for example, more than half of European countries with a minority/regional language community use partial immersion to teach both the minority and the state language. This method

14453-435: The following information about second language: "In a broad sense, any language learned after one has learnt one's native language [is called second language]. However, when contrasted with foreign language, the term refers more narrowly to a language that plays a major role in a particular country or region though it may not be the first language of many people who use it. For example, the learning of English by immigrants in

14602-587: The foreign language. It was also found that students' writings became more natural after using two online corpora in a 90-minute training session. In recent years, there were also suggestions to incorporate the applications of corpora into EFL writing courses in China to improve the writing skills of learners. Dictionaries of the target learning languages are commonly recommended to non-native language learners. They serve as reference tools by offering definitions, phonetic spelling, word classes and sample sentences. It

14751-509: The functions of a conventional spell checker can be incorporated into a grammar checker entirely and this is likely the route that the language processing industry is working towards. In reality, internationally available word processors such as Microsoft Word have difficulties combining spell checkers and grammar checkers due to licensing issues; various proofing instrument mechanisms for a certain language would have been licensed under different providers at different times. Electronic corpora in

14900-428: The generic spell checker used. In view of the deficiency of generic spell checkers, programs have been designed to gear towards non-native misspellings, such as FipsCor and Spengels. In FipsCor, a combination of methods, such as the alpha-code method, phonological reinterpretation method and morphological treatment method, has been adopted in an attempt to create a spell checker tailored to French language learners. On

15049-410: The gross domestic production (GDP); the authors state that Switzerland's GDP is augmented by 10% by multilingualism. A study in the United States by O. Agirdag found that bilingualism has substantial economic benefits, as bilingual people were found to earn around $ 3,000 more per year in salary than monolinguals. A study in 2012 has shown that using a foreign language reduces decision-making biases. It

15198-418: The high rate of foreign-language teaching in schools, the number of adults claiming to speak a foreign language is generally lower than might be expected. This is particularly true of native English speakers: in 2004 a British survey by recruitment firm Office Angels showed that fewer than one in 10 UK workers could speak a foreign language and that less than 5% could count to 20 in a second language. In 2012,

15347-432: The human language acquisition device —a mechanism that enables a learner to recreate correctly the rules and certain other characteristics of language used by surrounding speakers. This device, according to Chomsky, wears out over time, and is not normally available by puberty , which he uses to explain the poor results some adolescents and adults have when learning aspects of a second language (L2). If language learning

15496-558: The interconnectedness among neighboring countries with different languages. Most European students now study at least two foreign languages, a process strongly encouraged by the European Union . Based on the research in Ann Fathman's The Relationship Between Age and Second Language Productive Ability , there is a difference in the rate of learning of English morphology, syntax and phonology based upon differences in age, but

15645-430: The language learner have been developed. Language learning aids such as foreign-language writing aid and foreign-language reading aid , targeted at the specific language skills of foreign-language learners, are also alternative instruments available for foreign-language learners. Learning a foreign language provides various benefits, ranging from improving career opportunities to enhancing cognitive abilities. In 2004,

15794-450: The language learner to focus on the components which make up the word. Online orthography aids provide language learners with a step-by-step process on learning how to write characters. These are especially useful for learners of languages with logographic writing systems, such as Chinese or Japanese, in which the ordering of strokes for characters are important. Alternatively, tools like Skritter provide an interactive way of learning via

15943-576: The language people speak influences the way they see the world, can be interpreted to mean that individuals who speak multiple languages have a broader, more diverse view of the world, even when speaking only one language at a time. Some bilinguals feel that their personality changes depending on which language they are speaking; thus multilingualism is said to create multiple personalities. Xiao-lei Wang states in her book Growing up with Three Languages: Birth to Eleven : "Languages used by speakers with one or more than one language are used not just to represent

16092-431: The lexical-semantic information contained in dictionaries might not be sufficient with regards to language production in a particular context and learners may be misled into choosing incorrect words. Presently, many notable dictionaries are available online and basic usage is usually free. These online dictionaries allow learners of a foreign language to find references for a word much faster and more conveniently than with

16241-531: The linguistic continuum, multilingualism may be defined as the mastery of more than one language. The speaker would have knowledge of and control over the languages equivalent to that of a native speaker. At the opposite end of the spectrum would be people who know enough phrases to get around as a tourist using the alternate language. Since 1992, Vivian Cook has argued that most multilingual speakers fall somewhere between minimal and maximal definitions. Cook calls these people multi-competent . In addition, there

16390-535: The needs of non-native language users. Much research have attempted to tailor grammar checkers to the needs of non-native language users. Granska, a Swedish grammar checker, has been greatly worked upon by numerous researchers in the investigation of grammar checking properties for foreign language learners. The Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia has a computerised grammar checker for native Spanish speakers of EFL to help identify and correct grammatical mistakes without feedback from teachers. Theoretically,

16539-444: The order of acquisition in second language learning does not change with age. In second language class, students commonly face difficulties in thinking in the target language because they are influenced by their native language and cultural patterns. Robert B. Kaplan believes that in second language classes, foreign students' papers may seem out of focus because the foreign student employs rhetoric and sequences of thought that violate

16688-511: The other hand, Spengels is a tutoring system developed to aid Dutch children and non-native Dutch writers of English in accurate English spelling. Grammar (syntactical and morphological) competency is another indicator of a non-native speaker’s proficiency in writing in the target language. Grammar checkers are a type of computerised application which non-native speakers can make use of to proofread their writings as such programs endeavor to identify syntactical errors. Grammar and style checking

16837-522: The other. The third alternative represents the phenomenon of " code-switching " in which the productively bilingual party to a communication switches languages in the course of that communication. Receptively bilingual persons, especially children, may rapidly achieve oral fluency by spending extended time in situations where they are required to speak the language that they theretofore understood only passively. Until both generations achieve oral fluency, not all definitions of bilingualism accurately characterize

16986-441: The parents will speak their native language and the children will speak English. If their children are productively bilingual, however, those children may answer in their parents' native language, in English, or in a combination of both languages, varying their choice of language depending on factors such as the communication's content, context or emotional intensity and the presence or absence of third-party speakers of one language or

17135-399: The perception propagated in the 1960s that learning two languages made for two competing aims. The belief was that the two languages were mutually exclusive and that learning a second required unlearning elements and dynamics of the first to accommodate the second. The evidence for this perspective relied on the fact that some errors in acquiring the second language were related to the rules of

17284-417: The person they are speaking to, the reverse is true, and differences are sought. This mechanism also extends to language, as described by the communication accommodation theory . Some multilingual people use code-switching , which involves swapping between languages. In many cases, code-switching allows speakers to participate in more than one cultural group or environment. Code-switching may also function as

17433-462: The population of Africa is multilingual. In multilingual societies, not all speakers need to be multilingual. Some states can have multilingual policies and recognize several official languages, such as Canada (English and French). In some states, particular languages may be associated with particular regions in the state (e.g., Canada) or with particular ethnicities (e.g., Malaysia and Singapore). When all speakers are multilingual, linguists classify

17582-436: The process by which it becomes easier to learn additional languages if the grammar or vocabulary of the new language is similar to those of the languages already spoken. On the other hand, students may also experience negative transfer – interference from languages learned at an earlier stage of development while learning a new language later in life. Translanguaging also supports the acquisition of new languages. It helps

17731-860: The revisions of their written work. However, these difficulties are not attributed to their linguistic abilities. Many language learners experience foreign language anxiety , feelings of apprehensiveness and nervousness, when learning a second language. In the case of writing in a foreign language, this anxiety can be alleviated via foreign language writing aids as they assist non-native language users in independently producing decent written work at their own pace, hence increasing confidence about themselves and their own learning abilities. With advancements in technology, aids in foreign language writing are no longer restricted to traditional mediums such as teacher feedback and dictionaries. Known as computer-assisted language learning (CALL), use of computers in language classrooms has become more common, and one example would be

17880-486: The same sentence. If however, the speaker is reluctant to use code-switching, as in the case of a lack of proficiency, he might knowingly or unknowingly try to camouflage his attempt by converting elements of one language into elements of the other language through calquing . This results in speakers using terms like courrier noir (literally, mail that is black) in French, instead of the proper word for blackmail in French, chantage . Sometimes pidgins develop. A pidgin

18029-417: The sounds of the target language because they are unsure about the accurate spelling of the words. The spell checker application is a type of writing aid that non-native language learners can rely on to detect and correct their misspellings in the target language. In general, spell checkers can operate one of two modes, the interactive spell checking mode or the batch spell checking. In the interactive mode,

18178-535: The specific needs of a learner of a foreign language. In recent years, there is also specialised dictionaries for foreign language learners that employ natural language processing tools to assist in the compilations of dictionary entries by generating feedback on the vocabulary that learners use and automatically providing inflectional and/or derivational forms for referencing items in the explanations. The word thesaurus means 'treasury' or 'storehouse' in Greek and Latin

18327-489: The spell checker detects and marks misspelled words with a squiggly underlining as the words are being typed. On the other hand, batch spell checking is performed on a batch-by-batch basis as the appropriate command is entered. Spell checkers, such as those used in Microsoft Word , can operate in either mode. Although spell checkers are commonplace in numerous software products, errors specifically made by learners of

18476-424: The status of English in computing , software development nearly always uses it (but see also Non-English-based programming languages ), so almost all commercial software is initially available in an English version, and multilingual versions, if any, may be produced as alternative options based on the English original. The Multilingual App Toolkit (MAT) was first released in concert with the release of Windows 8 as

18625-491: The structure of the brain and enhances its functionality. A series of experiments on more than 300 people from the U.S. and Korea found that thinking in a second language reduced deep-seated, misleading biases that unduly influence how risks and benefits are perceived. Other research has shown that early exposure to a second language increases divergent thinking strategies, which helps not only in language-related tasks, but also in areas such as math. Children who are exposed to

18774-438: The target language can be used to improve the linguistic proficiency of foreign language learners. Machine translation aids help beginner learners of a foreign language to write more and produce better quality work in the target language; writing directly in the target language without any aid requires more effort on the learners' part, resulting in the difference in quantity and quality. However, teachers advise learners against

18923-494: The target language environment (second-language learning) and at the other we find learners learning the non-native language exclusively in language teaching setting and classrooms (foreign-language learning). A 'second language' usually has official status or a recognised function within a country which a foreign language has not and furthermore these two different situations frequently have important consequences to which attention has been drawn in some books. For example, Persian

19072-498: The target language environment, allowing for both acquisition and learning. Similarly, foreign-language learners who are far from the target language environment may still acquire language through exposure to media such as foreign radio or literature. In conclusion, while the distinction between acquisition and learning is useful in understanding language acquisition and learning, it is important to recognize that both processes can occur in various language learning contexts. Therefore, it

19221-555: The target language provide non-native language users with authentic examples of language use rather than fixed examples, which may not be reflected in daily interactions. The contextualised grammatical knowledge acquired by non-native language users through exposure to authentic texts in corpora allows them to grasp the manner of sentence formation in the target language, enabling effective writing. Concordance set up through concordancing programs of corpora allow non-native language users to conveniently grasp lexico-grammatical patterns of

19370-405: The target language quickly and conveniently. Out of the three major categories in computerised translation tools; computer-assisted translation (CAT), Terminology data banks and machine translation. Machine translation is the most ambitious as it is designed to handle the whole process of translation entirely without the intervention of human assistance. Studies have shown that translation into

19519-561: The target language, serve as a portable form of visual writing aid for language learners of logographic languages who may face difficulties in recalling the writing of certain characters. Studies have shown that tracing logographic characters improves the word recognition abilities of foreign language learners, as well as their ability to map the meanings onto the characters. This, however, does not improve their ability to link pronunciation with characters, which suggests that these learners need more than orthography aids to help them in mastering

19668-422: The target language. Collocational frequencies of words (i.e. word pairings frequencies) provide non-native language users with information about accurate grammar structures which can be used when writing in the target language. Collocational information also enable non-native language users to make clearer distinctions between words and expressions commonly regarded as synonyms. In addition, corpora information about

19817-441: The two national languages (Finnish and Swedish) and one foreign language (usually English). Many Finnish schoolchildren also study further languages, such as German or Russian. In some large nations with multiple languages, such as India , schoolchildren may routinely learn multiple languages based on where they reside in the country. In many countries, bilingualism occurs through international relations, which, with English being

19966-449: The two terms. O'Grady et al. (1384) do not mention the exact terms 'second' and 'foreign' language, but they emphasise on the role of learning environment in teaching non-native languages. So, the distinction between 'second language' and 'foreign language' is a geographical and environmental distinction. We can mention 'second-language situation' and 'foreign-language situation' as two situations of learning, not two kinds of languages. So

20115-422: The type of motivation and the distinction between 'learning' and 'acquisition' that I will discuss them in separate parts. In linguistic and pedagogic literature, there is often a distinction made between acquisition and language learning. Children are said to 'acquire' their native language, as they begin with no prior information or knowledge, whereas adults are said to 'learn' a non-native language. Acquisition

20264-425: The use of word processors to assist learners of a foreign language in the technical aspects of their writing, such as grammar . In comparison with correction feedback from the teacher, the use of word processors is found to be a better tool in improving the writing skills of students who are learning English as a foreign language (EFL), possibly because students find it more encouraging to learn their mistakes from

20413-584: The use of bilingual dictionaries during writing tests have shown that there is no significant differences in the test scores that can be attributed to the use of a dictionary. Nevertheless, from the perspective of foreign language learners, being able to use a bilingual dictionary during a test is reassuring and increases their confidence. There are many free translation aids online, also known as machine translation (MT) engines, such as Google Translate and Babel Fish (now defunct), that allow foreign language learners to translate between their native language and

20562-503: The use of bilingual dictionaries on their production and comprehension of unknown words. When using bilingual dictionaries, learners also tend to read entries in both native and target languages and this helps them to map the meanings of the target word in the foreign language onto its counterpart in their native language. It was also found that the use of bilingual dictionaries improves the results of translation tasks by learners of ESL, thus showing that language learning can be enhanced with

20711-505: The use of bilingual dictionaries. The use of bilingual dictionaries in foreign language writing tests remains a debate. Some studies support the view that the use of a dictionary in a foreign language examination increases the mean score of the test, and hence is one of the factors that influenced the decision to ban the use of dictionaries in several foreign language tests in the UK. More recent studies, however, present that further research into

20860-404: The use of machine translation aids as output from the machine translation aids are highly misleading and unreliable; producing the wrong answers most of the time. Over-reliance on the aids also hinder the development of learners' writing skills, and is viewed as an act of plagiarism since the language used is technically not produced by the student. The orthography of a language is the usage of

21009-555: The use of widely known world languages, such as English, as a lingua franca or a shared common language of professional and commercial communities. In lingua franca situations, most speakers of the common language are functionally multilingual. The reverse phenomenon, where people who know more than one language end up losing command of some or all of their additional languages, is called language attrition . It has been documented that, under certain conditions, individuals may lose their L1 language proficiency completely, after switching to

21158-481: The world teach at least one foreign language and most colleges and high schools require foreign language before graduation. By 1998, nearly all pupils in Europe studied at least one foreign language as part of their compulsory education, the only exception being Ireland , where primary and secondary schoolchildren learn both Irish and English, but neither is considered a foreign language (although Irish pupils do study

21307-406: The world. Many polyglots know up to five or six languages, but the frequency of polyglotism drops off sharply past this point. Those who know more languages than five or six— Michael Erard suggests eleven or more, while Usman W. Chohan suggests six to eight (depending on proficiency) or more—are sometimes classed as hyperpolyglots . Giuseppe Caspar Mezzofanti , for example, was a Cardinal who

21456-486: Was also reported to influence auditory processing abilities. Bilinguals might have important labor market advantages over monolingual individuals as bilingual people can carry out duties that monolinguals cannot, such as interacting with customers who only speak a minority language. A study in Switzerland has found that multilingualism is positively correlated with an individual's salary, the productivity of firms, and

21605-455: Was born in 1962, and he was diagnosed with brain damage approximately six months after his birth. Despite being institutionalized because he was unable to take care of himself, Christopher had a verbal IQ of 89, could speak English with no impairment, and could learn subsequent languages with apparent ease. This facility with language and communication is considered to be unusual for most diagnosed with savant syndrome. Widespread multilingualism

21754-522: Was common to hear two people talking on television each speaking a different language without any difficulty understanding each other. This bilingualism still exists nowadays, although it has started to deteriorate since Czechoslovakia split up. With emerging markets and expanding international cooperation, business users expect to be able to use software and applications in their own language. Multilingualisation (or "m17n", where "17" stands for 17 omitted letters) of computer systems can be considered part of

21903-409: Was found that the use of a dictionary can help learners of a foreign language write better if they know how to use them. Foreign language learners can make use of grammar-related information from the dictionary to select appropriate words, check the correct spelling of a word and look up synonyms to add more variety to their writing. Nonetheless, learners have to be careful when using dictionaries as

22052-470: Was reputed to have spoken anywhere from 30 to 72 languages. The term savant , in a general sense, may refer to any individual with a natural or innate talent for a particular field; however, people diagnosed with savant syndrome are specifically individuals with significant mental disabilities who demonstrate certain profound and prodigious capacities or certain abilities far in excess of what would usually be considered normal, occasionally including

22201-579: Was surmised that the framing effect disappeared when choices are presented in a second language. As human reasoning is shaped by two distinct modes of thought: one that is systematic, analytical and cognition-intensive, and another that is fast, unconscious and emotionally charged, it was believed that a second language provides a useful cognitive distance from automatic processes, promoting analytical thought and reducing unthinking, emotional reaction. Therefore, those who speak two languages have better critical thinking and decision-making skills. A study published

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