Let's uncover the marvels of the bilingual brain!

In this episode we are unveiling the unique cognitive strengths and abilities that ELLs bring to the classroom. Discover the enhanced cognitive control and executive functioning embedded in bilingual brains. From code-switching mastery to analytical thinking, this episode celebrates the extraordinary superpowers that bilingual brains possess. As educators, let's champion and embrace these strengths, creating an inclusive environment where bilingualism is celebrated.

Share this episode with your students, so they can take pride in their incredible bilingual brain and be encouraged as they navigate the language learning journey!

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welcome to another episode of the equipping Ells podcast. Today is going to be a quick and to the point episode, but I think it's super important because it's all about the bilingual brain. Now, I usually say I'm going to keep these short, and then I usually end up talking a lot. But today I really want to try to keep the next few episodes a little more tangible, a little more digestible, trying to keep them a little shorter for you, because I know some of you are limited on time and don't get to have all the time to get through the episode. So today I want to dive into and talk about a brain that knows two or more language. Today I want to dive in and I want to talk about the brain makeup of a brain that knows two or more languages, because it's truly like looking at a superhero's brain. It's a different makeup. It's a different complexity. It's really incredible. When you talk with people who from birth have been learning different languages, sometimes three, four, five languages, I am always just blown away and in awe that they are able to do that. And a lot of times they do it so easily and so naturally. And so this is something that I just am so incredibly in awe of because my story, I've been learning English for Spanish for 20 plus years and still struggle to get common words and verbs correct in sentences. So when I hear people just fluently go in and out of both languages, in and out of both cultures, it's truly a remarkable thing that's going on in their brain. So I want to highlight this today, because even if you are not bilingual, I think it's so important that as teachers, we celebrate this superpower that our students who are bilingual are bringing into our classroom. Or for those who have another language at home and are on their way to learn English and are working at becoming bilingual, these, again, are the things that we want to celebrate with them, because as we try to advocate and shift the dynamics inside our classrooms and our schools to be more assets based, this is a really great place to begin by seeing the strengths and by creating an environment and a school where bilingualism is accepted. It's welcomed, it's encouraged, it's celebrated. And so when you know what's happening in the brain, when someone's going in and out of two languages, I think you're going to come away going, wow, that's incredible. And hopefully, if you feel comfortable, you can even share this with your students and let them hear about the superpowers that they have inside of their brain. So let's talk about five superpowers the bilingual brain has and how knowing this information can help you see the assets your students bring into your classroom and to help you see their own personal strengths. So we really want to continue to encourage them. I want to begin with first imagining playing a video game, okay? And in this video game, you're so tuned in, you're able to ignore all the distractions. Maybe there's a crying baby in the back. Maybe your sister's coming and hitting you in the head with something, but you're able to tune out those distractions, and you're really able to focus in on your mission of this video game. People who speak two languages are really good at doing exactly this. It's because their brains can practice ignoring stuff that they don't need in that moment, and they're able to really focus in on what's important. This is called enhanced cognitive control, and this is something that the bilingual brain tends to be stronger in. There's just studies that have shown that they really are able to focus in and remove distractions, okay? And this is because they're constantly switching between the two languages. So they're really able, their brain is much more able to be flexible and adaptable to what is happening. They're able to move into one language when they enter the home and move into another language. They enter the classroom, and they're able to pull out words from one language in one situation and vice versa. It's truly an incredible thing that's happening as they operate and live in both of these languages, and it really strengthens their cognitive control. Next, when you think about things like remembering things, like a grocery list or steps to solve a math problem, bilingual brains are like having a super cool storage box in their head. They can keep a lot of stuff in there and they take it out when they need it. Like I said, when they're working in one language, they pull out words for that language. When they work in another language, they pull. Pull out the words for that language. It's truly a remarkable thing that's going on. And so it's like this storage box in their head where they know to pull out the correct words in the right context. And this is an example of improved executive functioning. Executive functioning consists of a strong working memory and a strong attention control. I mean, think of it yourself. When you are listening to something in your first language, even right now, how many of you right now are kind of half listening? You maybe are doing something else, and you're kind of listening in the background while you do another task. And that's totally okay. I'm here to join you in whatever way you want to turn me on and listen. But when you are a bilingual learner, if you were listening to this and I was speaking in another language and you were learning that language, think of how different your approach would be to listening to this podcast. You would probably have to stop what you're doing. You would slow down the rate of speech you would listen in. You might write down some new words that you don't know, and you would be very attentive to what is being said and how you're processing what is being said so that you can pick out the vocabulary, you know, you can listen about how it's being said, the way it's being said, the meaning behind it, and so on. So this skill really helps to strengthen the executive functioning part of the brain, which is why that listening comprehension piece is so important for our Ell students. Okay. It's really strengthening that working memory, and working memory is very important to everything else that goes on in the brain. Now, bilinguals also are like language detectives, and this is something, if you're working with bilingual students, I want you to call them that. I want you to share and build in them this love for becoming a language detective. When we approach a new language, as we're detectives, we're exploring, we're connecting, we're figuring things out, and we're going to get things wrong, and that's okay. And if that's what we place on our students, they're going to approach learning another language with much more excitement, to uncover new things over approaching a language, as these are all the things you don't know, and you have a lot to learn. And sometimes that's the sentiment that's being felt right. So bilinguals really are like language detectives. They're really good at noticing things about language, like different sounds or how sentences are put together. And so this makes them really great at learning new words. And understanding how language works. Have you ever had an experience where one of your bilingual students has made an observation about, you know, maybe it's an english rule or a way they see. An exception to the rule or just an observation they've made. And it's really been impressive to you that they were able to see and uncover that because they are learning this language firsthand, they can go a lot more in depth on the structure. And all that comes with language acquisition over native speakers, who a lot of times might just learn this just through what sounds correct. I mean, how many times have you thought, well, I say it this way because that's what sounds correct. I don't know the reasoning behind it. I don't know the grammar rules behind it. If you've done any training on the science of reading and learning more about how we develop reading skills, I don't know if you're like me, but as I've gone deeper in that, I'm like, wow, I did not know any of this, and it makes sense, but I was never taught really all the background to why some words in English are the way that they are, or why are some of the rules or the phonic skills the way that they are. So it's been some of that for me, you just get used to. It's how you hear sounds. It's what you get, what's normal to you. But for those who are bilingual, brains and then learning that additional language, they really listen in, they really think and process and try to uncover and discover why are the words that way? Why are the sounds that way? Why is that sentence structure that way? The same happens in other languages. So I remember when I was learning Spanish, and I had a tutor after school, and I was asking her, I said, I just always have a hard time with poor and pada. I have to go through my brain and think through the chart of when to use poor and when to use pada. And I asked her, do you struggle with that? And she was like, no, absolutely not. You just know when to use poor and when to use pada. And it made sense to me that, you know what? This is the same thing that our speakers who don't speak English and are learning English, the same thing is happening for them. There's words that are just really hard to know when to use correctly, words like on, versus, in, and all of and all of those we know that can get really tricky. And so the same thing happens in other languages as well. So it helps us become like language detectives. Now, another skill that, another superpower that our bilingual students have is their metal linguistic skills. Okay? This is where bilinguals can develop a heightened awareness of language structure, grammar, and vocabulary. So that's what I'm saying. That's a fancier way to say that. Our students are language detectives. They can analyze and understand linguistic patterns, which can transfer to improved language and literacy skills. They also, and this is something that I see happening all the time here, and I love it. I actually do this myself, but it's called code switching, and code switching is when bilinguals can. Seamlessly switch between languages and conversation, demonstrating their mastery over language structures and rules. So they are able to maybe use a whole sentence in English, but then add in a word that they maybe can't recall in English, but they can in their native language, and they throw that in. Code switching happens all the time here in Panama where know, in conversation with people. And it's awesome. I love it. My kids do it. I think it's great.

Now, another superpower of the bilingual brain is that speaking two languages really helps you understand and appreciate people from different places better. It's truly like having a key to unlock the door to new cultures and make new friends from all over the world. I have found this living here of just realizing when you are able to understand another language, you are able to open up a whole new world. There's things that happen here in Panama that my friends in the US would have no understanding to. They would know no connection to maybe some famous people in the latin world or maybe some tv shows that are really popular here, or music, or just culturally what's expected at weddings and birthday parties and things that are very different than what I grew up with culturally. But when I've been able to unlock that language barrier and enter into this culture, I have opened up this opportunity to understand a completely different world, different jokes, different ways to say things. And it is really incredible to be able to really embrace two cultures. And that's what our bilingual students get to do, and that's what we really want to help support them in. Now, another superpower is their analytical thinking skills. Okay? So when it comes to solving tricky puzzles or coming up with creative ideas, bilingual brains are champs. They really can look at problems from different angles and find cool solutions. This is because their analytical thinking is really helping them to process information from different linguistic angles. As they continue to increase in their bilingual skills, they're able to approach something by using the different lenses that they can see through, and this really helps them to solve complex problem solving situations. Now, the last superpower that our student have is that two languages might even help your brain stay young and sharp when you get older. So there's so much research out about how bilingualism can delay the onset of cognitive delay and neurodegenerative disorder, such as Alzheimer's disease. Okay? Because of this, constant mental stimulation from managing multiple languages appears to. Promote brain health in older age. So think of what is happening inside the brains of your bilingual students. Think of all of the different firing that's happening throughout the day as they go in and out of the different languages, pulling different vocabulary, working on different sentence structures, outputting through speaking and writing. It's truly remarkable. So we can see that our students have superpowers that they are bringing into the classroom. And if we take a look at our bilingual students and we're not seeing them excel in these ways, if we're not seeing that they're doing awesome things with math and reading and problem solving and all these other things I mentioned today, then we really need to ask the question, is it because of them or is it because of how our education system is set up? Because research is showing that bilingual brains are incredible and have incredible superpowers. So how can we really use that in our classrooms, in our education system and promoting that and to really bring those opportunities into our classrooms so that our bilingual students and our monolingual students can really learn and grow together in these superpowers.

So having a bilingual brain, they help you make friends, they help you solve problems, and they help you to understand the world better. Please share this episode with your students if you feel comfortable doing that, so that they can be proud of their incredible bilingual brain. I know for me, it makes me want to keep be working at Spanish, not giving up on it, so I can keep pushing my brain muscles as well.