New Research Shows Benefits of Bilingualism  b_250_0_16777215_00
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(UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.) -- Researchers from Penn State have found
that fluent bilinguals probably have greater levels of mental
flexibility than people who speak just one language. The
researchers found that fluent bilinguals have both languages
active at all times, regardless of whether they’re consciously
using both. That holds true even if they speak just one of the
languages for days on end. The other still remains active.  And
people rarely say anything in an unintended language, meaning
they are able to control the parallel activity of both languages
and select which one they want to use without actually
consciously thinking about it, hence the mental flexibility.
"In the past, bilinguals were looked down upon," Judith F.
Kroll, distinguished professor of Psychology, Linguistics and
Women’s Studies, said in a statement. "Not only is bilingualism
not bad for you, it may be reall