Can Language Immersion Lead to Enhanced Creativity?

[Francis Hult]

Finding Dulcinea

 

Can Language Immersion Lead to Enhanced Creativity?

 

News of the "dual immersion" language programs offered in 21 Utah elementary schools, reported by The Salt Lake Tribune, comes on the heels of an intriguing study establishing evidence of a link between living abroad and enhanced creativity. 

In the study, published recently in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, students were presented with challenging construction tasks requiring them to think creatively-attach a candle to a wall without allowing wax to drip on the floor, for example. Researchers concluded that students who'd lived abroad tended to think up "the most creative solution," according to Scientific American. 

Theoretically, those who learn a foreign language are more likely to take the leap and actually live abroad, which suggests that Utah's program could produce a new generation of creative students. 

 

Full story:

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/education/2009/june/Can-Language-Immersion-Lead-to-Enhanced-Creativity.html

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