Bilingual Education and Linguistic Flexibility

Abstract

Introduction:  A bilinigual education can have cognitive advantages, over and above those directly associated with knowledge od a second language. There is now evidence that such 'additive' bilingualism requires certain environmental and cognitive conditions, and there is some indication of the cognitive benefits it produces. Bilinguals are said to have 'cognitive flexibility' (Lambert, 1977, p.16). The object of the small study reported in this paper is to identify the linguistic and meta-lingusitic components of bilinguals' cognitive flexibility--their linguistic flexibility. Bilinguals' linguistic flexibility is contrasted with that of a monolingual control, and that of another monolingual group trained in linguistic analysis.