The Effect of Bilingualism on Various Types of Creativity in Early Childhood

• In Event: 32.083 - Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: 32.083-5 - Early Childhood and Elementary Students Becoming Bilingual in Schools and Homes

Abstract

This study examined the effect of bilingualism on creativity in non-mathematical and mathematical problem-solving among bilingual and monolingual preschoolers. Two groups of children participated in this study: 15 Russian/Hebrew balanced bilinguals and 16 native Hebrew-speaking monolinguals. All children were administered the Working Memory Test, the Verbal Fluency Test, the Pictorial Multiple Solution Task on general creativity, and the Creating Equal Number task on mathematical creativity. The results show that balanced bilingualism has a positive effect on the development of creativity, but that the effect differs according to the type of creativity: verbal, general, or mathematical. Moreover, creative ability together with the forms and the extent of the influence of bilingualism on creativity seem to develop as children grow

Author

• Esther Tov Li, Shaanan College