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Bilingual children perform better in problem-solving skills and creative thinking when compared to those who can speak only one language.

A research led at the University of Strathclyde claims that bilingual children are significantly more successful than others and perhaps it is the mental alertness required to switch between languages that makes them sharper than others. 

For the study, the researchers examined 121 primary school pupils aged around nine, who spoke English or Italian. Half of them could also speak Gaelic or Sardinian. It was found that bilingual children performed much than others and also, Gaelic-speaking children were found to be better than Sardinian speakers. 

The ability to switch languages develops skills useful in other types of thinking, the researchers said. The reason Gaelic-speaking children performed better could be because the language has extensive literature and is taught formally.

The children were asked to reproduce patterns of colored blocks, to repeat orally a series of numbers, to give clear definitions of words and to resolve mentally a set of arithmetic problems, the press release stated. The tasks were in English or Italian.

"Bilingualism is now largely seen as being beneficial to children but there remains a view that it can be confusing, and so potentially detrimental to them," said Dr Fraser Lauchlan, lead author of the study and an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde's School of Psychological Sciences & Health.

"Our study has found that it can have demonstrable benefits, not only in language but in arithmetic, problem solving and enabling children to think creatively. We also assessed the children's vocabulary, not so much for their knowledge of words as their understanding of them. Again, there was a marked difference in the level of detail and richness in description from the bilingual pupils," he added.  

"We also found they had an aptitude for selective attention- the ability to identify and focus on information which is important, while filtering out what is not- which could come from the 'code-switching' of thinking in two different languages." 

Lauchlan conducted the research along with colleagues at the University of Cagliari in Sardinia, where he is a Visiting Professor.

The study has been published in the International Journal of Bilingualism.