Being Bilingual Reading Answers

Sep 13, 2024

Being Bilingual Reading Answers is an academic reading answers topic. Being Bilingual Reading Answers has a total of 14 IELTS questions in total,27-32 you have to state if the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3, 33-37 you have to choose the correct letter, 38-40 you have completed the sentence with correct ending.

Candidates should read the IELTS Reading passage thoroughly to recognize synonyms, identify keywords, and answer the questions below. IELTS Reading practice papers, which feature topics such as Being Bilingual Reading Answers. Candidates can use IELTS reading practice questions and answers to enhance their performance in the reading section.

READING PASSAGE - 3

BEING BILINGUAL

SPEAKING MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE ALTERS YOUR BRAINS

Whether being able to speak more than one language from childhood is beneficial has long been debated. Earlier last century it was considered detrimental, and that a child's brain would struggle with coping with. more than one language, slowing down their development, affecting their progress at school and even resulting in schizophrenia. This is quite ridiculous when you consider that up to 60 per cent of the world's population speaks more than one language! In the final decades of the last century, the pendulum swung around to seeing bilingualism as a benefit, with any delay in the development of speech being quickly overcome. The new claims about bilingualism are rather surprising. It is quite natural for humans to be bilingual. Newborn babies are already able to distinguish a change in language. At the age of six months they can distinguish the difference between, for example, French and English, merely by observing mouth movements. Then they develop a method of recognizing differences in syllables, and the flow of sounds. It seems babies are programmed to learn and distinguish between multiple languages.

As we develop the ability to speak, there are certain sounds particular to some languages and not others. As we get older we lose the ability to create sounds we do not hear. For example, an adult native speaker of Japanese finds it difficult to make the L sound in other languages if learning it later in life, as they have lost the ability to create the sound, never having needed to make them in their own language. It is thought that a small child has a kind of code switching ability with multiple languages, blocking one and turning on another, which diminishes with age, but retains the ability if a second language is learnt early. In the frontal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for the motor functioning of language production, native languages are spatially separated from languages that are learned later. However, in the temporal lobe at the base of the brain, which is responsible for the comprehension of language, languages seem to be stored together, which accounts for why learners of a second language often have greater ability to comprehend it than to speak it. By learning more than one language at an earlier age, this separation is avoided as the language store is contained together in both parts of the brain, making the speaker adept at switching from one language to another. It's thought it may also be possible to store other later-learned languages in the same compact compartments that have developed, so learning multiple languages at a young age means you can add others later with fewer problems.

There is a bit of a downside. Bilinguals can have slower mental access to words than monolinguals. It is a miniscule time difference, but they are slower at naming some objects. The surprising thing is that the delay is not in the access of words from the weaker language, but words from the dominant language. It is also generally true that bilingual individuals have smaller vocabularies in their dominant language than monolingual speakers.

There are some minor negative aspects to being bilingual, but these are far outweighed by the positives. People who speak more than one language are said to have less 'egocentric bias', meaning that they are more able understand another person's viewpoint. For example, bilinguals are able to see a board game more easily from their opponent's standpoint; as much as 33 per cent more. Studies have shown they also have better control of their attention span. Perhaps having the ability to ignore half of the vocabulary in their brain when speaking makes them less likely to be side-tracked by distractions. Another associated benefit is a lesser likelihood of acquiring age-related brain deteriorating diseases. The onset of dementia is slower than in monolinguals. Possession of a second language means better neurological health in general and the experience of lower stress levels.

There are advantages to later language learning for those of us that are still monolingual, apart from the obvious cultural value of being able to communicate in more than one language. The advantages also include clearer decision-making. Slowness in speaking a second language makes the speaker less spontaneous, more careful about what they say and how it is expressed. When asked the question whether it is better to push a man in front of a train to save five other lives, those considering the question in a non-native language are more rational than moralistic. The results of this study surprised many people who found it hard to believe that a moral reaction could differ according to the language used, but it seems that we do reason differently when we are having some difficulty finding the right words. There are some questions about how these types of studies are constructed. Many that compare monolingual and bilingual people measure only the number of languages spoken and tend to disregard immigrant status, socioeconomic background, educational level and cultural traits. Any or all of these confounding factors could explain why bilinguals perform better in tests of mental control or attention span. more extensive data and studies are now considering other possible factors more. Though

Researchers are under pressure to provide researchers are now testing under more stringent circumstances, many of the outcomes still indicate what was previously found. Measuring objectively what goes on inside the human head is never going to be easy, but so far research indicates that there are certainly great benefits to being bilingual.

Questions 27-32

Do the following statements agree with the views of the writer in Reading Passage 3?

YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Being bilingual can cause problems with a child's education."

Answer:No

Supporting statement: Whether being able to speak more than one language from childhood is beneficial has long been debated

Keywords: language, childhood, beneficial

Keyword location: 1st paragraph, 1st line

Explanation: Whether being able to speak more than one language from childhood is beneficial has long been debated. Being bilingual is an advantage and not a problem. Thus the answer is no

Many more people became bilingual at the turn of the century.

Answer:Not given

Explanation: Not given in the passage

New ideas about the advantages of bilingualism were unexpected.

Answer:Yes

Supporting statement: The new claims about bilingualism are rather surprising

Keywords: bilingualism, surprising

Keyword location: 1st paragraph,5th line

Explanation: The new claims about bilingualism are rather surprising.New ideas about the advantages of bilingualism were unexpected. Thus the answer is yes.

Very young children need to be taught bilingual skills.

Answer:No

Supporting statement: It seems babies are programmed to learn and distinguish between multiple languages.

Keywords: babies,learn, programmed, languages

Keyword location: 1st paragraph,last line

Explanation: It seems babies are programmed to learn and distinguish between multiple languages. It is already programmed in the child so there is no need to teach them bilingual skills.Thus the answer is no.

Children can learn up to ten languages without problem.

Answer:Not given

Explanation: Not mentioned in the passage.

The ability to learn languages diminishes throughout life.

Answer:Yes

Supporting statement: . It is thought that a small child has a kind of code switching ability with multiple languages, blocking one and turning on another, which diminishes with age, but retains the ability if a second language is learnt early.

Keywords: get older,lose, ability

Keyword location: 2nd paragraph, 3rd line

Explanation: It is thought that a small child has a kind of code switching ability with multiple languages, blocking one and turning on another, which diminishes with age, but retains the ability if a second language is learnt early.The ability to learn languages diminishes throughout life. Thus the answer is yes.

Questions 33-34 Choose the correct letter.

According to the writer, Japanese adults have problems learning to pronounce L because

they have never had the ability to make this sound.
they learned it as children.
the sound does not exist in Japanese.
they confuse it with other similar sounds.

Answer:c

Supporting statement: For example, an adult native speaker of Japanese finds it difficult to make the L sound in other languages if learning it later in life, as they have lost the ability to create the sound, never having needed to make them in their own language

Keywords: Japanese,L sound,lost, ability

Keyword location: 2nd paragraph, 2nd line

Explanation: For example, an adult native speaker of Japanese finds it difficult to make the L sound in other languages if learning it later in life, as they have lost the ability to create the sound, never having needed to make them in their own language.

What does the writer say about the temporal lobe in the brain?

It controls the physical production of sounds.
It stores languages learned at different times separately.
It is the sole part of the brain used for language.
It controls how a person understands a language.

Answer: D

Supporting statement: In the frontal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for the motor functioning of language production, native languages are spatially separated from languages that are learned later.

Keywords: frontal lobe, language production

Keyword location:2nd paragraph, 4th line

Explanation: In the frontal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for the motor functioning of language production, native languages are spatially separated from languages that are learned later.

Questions 35-37 Choose the correct letter.

What can be an associated problem for bilinguals?

They have a delay in remembering words from their second language.
They have problems distinguishing between the two languages.
They know less words than monolinguals in their dominant language.
They are much slower than monolinguals at naming some things.

Answer: C

Supporting statement: It is also generally true that bilingual individuals have smaller vocabularies in their dominant language than monolingual speakers.

Keywords: bilingual,smaller vocabularies, monolingual speakers

Keyword location: 3rd paragraph, last line

Explanation: It is also generally true that bilingual individuals have smaller vocabularies in their dominant language than monolingual speakers.

Bilinguals are a third more likely to

have 'egocentric bias'.
see another's point of view.
suffer from dementia.
be distracted.

Answer: B

Supporting statement: People who speak more than one language are said to have less 'egocentric bias', meaning that they are more able to understand another person's viewpoint.

Keywords: viewpoint, language

Keyword location: 3rd paragraph, 2nd line

Explanation: People who speak more than one language are said to have less 'egocentric bias', meaning that they are more able to understand another person's viewpoint.

The writer asserts if we are slower to express ourselves in a language we

change our way of mentally analysing.
learn that language more quickly.
find it difficult to make decisions.
become more moralistic.

Answer:A

Supporting statement: Bilinguals can have slower mental access to words than monolinguals.

Keywords: Bilingual,slower,mental access

Keyword location: 2nd paragraph, 2nd line

Explanation: Bilinguals can have slower mental access to words than monolinguals.

Questions 38-40

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-G.

Past studies that have been done on bilingualism have tended to

Answer: A

Supporting statement: Perhaps having the ability to ignore half of the vocabulary in their brain when speaking makes them less likely to be side-tracked by distractions.

Keywords: ability,ignore, vocabulary

Keyword location: 3rd paragraph,4th line

Explanation: Perhaps having the ability to ignore half of the vocabulary in their brain when speaking makes them less likely to be side-tracked by distractions.

- 39. The research being done now has been obliged to

Answer: D

Supporting statement: Researchers are under pressure to provide researchers are now testing under more stringent circumstances, many of the outcomes still indicate what was previously found.

Keywords: research, stringent, outcomes

Keyword location: last paragraph,11th line

Explanation: Researchers are under pressure to provide researchers are now testing under more stringent circumstances, many of the outcomes still indicate what was previously found.

Current findings on the effects of being bilingual

Answer: C

Supporting statement: Researchers are under pressure to provide researchers are now testing under more stringent circumstances, many of the outcomes still indicate what was previously found.

Keywords: now, previously found

Keyword location: last paragraph,11th line

Explanation:

Researchers are under pressure to provide researchers are now testing under more stringent circumstances, many of the outcomes still indicate what was previously found.