Bilingualism and attentional processes in the age and language proficiency continuum.

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Canada is a nation of great ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity. Many Canadians speak 2 or more languages, usually including one or both official ones (Houle attention. Lifelong bilingualism has also been associated with changes in the brain's structure and how it functions, but we have not yet established the link between these changes and enhanced attention. These advantages seem to vary depending on age and second language usage and proficiency, but no work has yet addressed the links between age, second language usage and proficiency, attention and the brain.***In the last 6 years, my team has established an original, structured research program designed to answer these questions. We have already identified some important clues. Three interrelated studies on attention and the brain are the backbone of this NSERC proposal. A team of talented researchers under my supervision will use state-of-the art scientific tools and methods to address each question and integrate the answers to gain a real understanding of the mechanisms by which speaking more than one language could lead to cognitive and brain advantages.***This work is important for Canada, an officially bilingual country. Learning a second language may represent a long-term cognitive investment, in the form of an array of neural and cognitive resources that could, among other things, help people cope with age-related cognitive decline and contribute to their well-being. Our follow-up program will allow us to examine the possibility of inducing positive neural and behavioural changes by teaching one or more languages late in life. From an academic perspective, this work will provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex interactions between second language usage proficiency, attention, and the brain, and provide the basis for future research on other life experience factors that trigger positive changes in cognition and the brain. Given the importance of cognitive functions to our everyday life and the increase in the number of elderly people in our society, this is a promising research field.*********Houle, R. & Corbeil, J.P (2016) Language Projections for Canada 2011 to 2036. Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series. Statistics Canada.**