Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development.  But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its ability of knowledge acquisition. The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life. 

參考譯文：

長期以來，研究人員、教育工作者和決策者都認為第二語言是一種干擾，會阻礙兒童的學業和智力發展。但是研究人員現在發現，這種干擾與其說是障礙，倒不如說由此而得福。它迫使大腦去解決內部沖突，使腦筋活動起來，從而增強獲得知識的能力。從幼年到老年，使用雙語的經歷似乎都在影響人的大腦，而且有理由相信，這種情況同樣適用于在成年以后才學習第二語言的人。

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