The phenomenon of acquired bilinguism (based on the Spanish and Russian languages)

   Bilingualism (from Latin. bi – “two” + Latin “lingua” language) is an equal command of two languages. Linguistic success of a person can be explained by various factors, and this article studies the phenomenon of “bilingualism”, namely the phenomenon of acquired bilingualism. In the course of study, the following questions arose: Because of what conditions and circumstances can a person who enters a bilingual environment call himself a “bilingual”? Does innate bilingualism affect a person’s ability to learn foreign languages? The phenomenon of “bilingualism” is studied based on the Spanish and Russian languages. In our research, we relied on the Stroop test and developed a methodology consisting of theoretical and practical parts to determine the correlation between language abilities and innate bilingualism. We have developed a questionnaire for testing students, majoring in “Foreign Philology: the Spanish Language, Literature and Translation Studies” at Kazan Federal University, and students of the Kazan “Spanish Center” who study Spanish to determine the average indicator T3-T2 among all respondents. To achieve the most adequate and objective results, we have created the methodology consisting of two parts – theoretical and practical. The article puts forward the hypotheses, which are tested in the course of the study, using our own methodology, for example, on the issue of comparing bilinguals and monolinguals’ ability to learn foreign languages. Based on the experiments described above, the article explores a new topic in the field of bilingualism - the impact of bilingualism on the behavioral model of a person. In the course of the study, we consider various opinions about the phenomenon of bilingualism in general as well as its aspects, and draw appropriate conclusions, proving the relevance of the topic of bilingualism in modern scientific research.

1. Van Dijk, Kroesbergen, M., Blom, E., Leseman, E. & P. (2018). Bilingualism and Creativity: Towards a Situated Cognition Approach. The Journal of Creative Behavior. Special Issue. Vol. 53, pp. 178–202. (In English)

2. Adams, A. M. How Language is Embodied in Bilinguals and Children with Specific Language Impairment. Frontiers in Psychology. Pp. 12–13. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01209 (accessed: 26. 06. 2021). (In English)

3. Kalinina, E. Yu. (2007). Ponyatie lingvisticheskoi kompetentsii v svete nablyudenii, poluchennykh v khode polevoi raboty [The Concept of Linguistic Competence in the Light of Observations Obtained in the Course of Field Work]. Tipologiya yazyka i teoriya grammatiki. Materialy Mezhdunarodnoi konferentsii, posvyashchennoi 100-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya S. D. Katsnel'sona , St. Petersburg, “Nestor-Istoriya”, pp. 80–95. (In Russian)

4. Podrugina, M. A. (2015). Vliyanie bilingvizma na lichnostnoe razvitie detei [The Influence of Bilingualism on the Personal Development of Children]. Mezhdunarodnyi nauchnyi zhurnal “Innovatsionnaya nauka”. No. 12, pp. 221–225. (In Russian)

5. Rumyantseva, M. V. (2006). Obuchenie lingvisticheski odarennykh shkol'nikov inostrannomu yazyku v usloviyakh dopolnitel'nogo obrazovaniya [Teaching Linguistically Gifted Schoolchildren a Foreign Language in Conditions of Supplementary Education]. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta MVD Rossii. 188 p. St. Petersburg. (In Russian)

6. Barac, R., Bialystok, E., Castro, D. C., & Sanchez, M. The Cognitive Development of Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29. Pp. 699–714. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.02.003 (accessed: 26. 06. 2021). (In English)

7. Jensen A. R., Rohwer W. D. (1966). The Stroop Color-Word Test: A Review. Acta Psychologica. Vol. 25 (1), pp. 36–93. (In English)

8. Lamers, M. J.; et al. (2010). “Selective Attention And Response Set In The Stroop Task”. Memory & Cognition. Vol. 38 (7), pp. 893–904. (In English)

9. Test Strupa. Metodorf.ru. URL: https://metodorf.ru/tests/strup_sovpadenie_cveta.php (accessed: 10. 07. 2020). (In English)

10. Sidorenkova, L. I. (2008). Vozrastnye razlichiya v strukture yazykovykh sposobnostei i vozmozhnosti ikh ucheta v protsesse obucheniya inostrannomu yazyku [Age Differences in the Structure of Language Abilities and the Possibility of Taking Them into Account in the Process of Teaching a Foreign Language]. Psikhologiya obucheniya. No. 10, pp. 14–28. (In Russian)

11. Goleva, N. (2006). Lingvopersonologiya: tipy yazykovykh lichnostei i lichnostno-orientirovannoe obuchenie : monografiya [Linguopersonology: Types of Linguistic Personalities and Student-Centered Learning : A Monograph]. Pod red. N. D. Goleva, N. V. Saikovoi, E. P. Khomich. 435 p. Barnaul; Kemerovo, BGPU. (In Russian)

12. Bialystok, E. (2009). Bilingualism: The Good, the Bad, and the Indifferent. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. No. 12, pp. 3–11. doi: 10.1017/s1366728908003477 (accessed: 26. 12. 2021). (In English)

13. Cameron, L. Maslen, R., Todd, Z., Maule, J., Stratton, & N. Stanley (2009). The Discourse Dynamics Approach to Metaphor and Metaphor-Led Discourse Analysis. Metaphor & Symbol. Vol. 24, pp. 9–25. (In English)

14. Suarez, P. Gollan, T. Heaton, R. Grant, I. Cherner M. Second-Language Fluency Predicts Native Language Stroop Effects: Evidence from Spanish–English Bilinguals. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. Vol. 20(3), pp. 342–348. (In English)