“If you walk into a room, where a million things can attract your attention, how does your mind pay attention to what you need to pay attention to without getting distracted?” Dr Ellen Bialystok [link]
How we manage to stay ‘tuned-in’ is one of the miracles of modern humanity. Although we take it for granted, not all species are so equipped. The ability to focus and quickly switch focus is part of a legacy system handed down from our ancestors [link]. Neuroscience locates this system in the prefrontal cortex. That’s the part of the brain responsible for focusing attention, ignoring distractions and holding different scenarios in mind while trying to stay clear. According to the Journal of Neurology [link], bilinguals have an advantage doing this that lasts a lifetime. People who can hold a mental narrative in two languages ..and choose the one that best expresses their thoughts in conversation, also excel at swiftly deciding what’s important in situations where they’re presented with relevant and irrelevant information.
No comments:
Post a Comment