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The Enhancement of Figural Creativity Through Second Language Learning at the Elementary School Level
Author(s) -
Landry Richard G.
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1974.tb00090.x
Subject(s) - fluency , creativity , psychology , flexibility (engineering) , foreign language , neuroscience of multilingualism , multivariate analysis of variance , language experience approach , mathematics education , language learning strategies , second language attrition , first language , cognitive psychology , variance (accounting) , linguistics , comprehension approach , metacognition , language education , social psychology , cognition , computer science , mathematics , statistics , philosophy , neuroscience , machine learning , accounting , business
The main hypothesis of this study is that the experience of learning a second language at the elementary school level is positively correlated to divergent thinking in figural tasks. Research studies on learning sets and on bilingualism suggest that through experience individuals become more flexible in their thinking. This study is concerned with flexibility in thinking through experience with a foreign language. Comparisons are made between second language learners and single language learners using multivariate analysis of variance with figural fluency and figural flexibility as dependent variables. The second language learners score significantly higher than do the monolingual pupils on both variables. Second language learning appears, therefore, not only to provide children with the ability to depart from the traditional approaches to a problem but also to supply them with possible rich resources for new and different ideas.