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ERIC Number: ED021848
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1966-May
Pages: 6
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Bilingualism and Creativity.
Jacobs, John F.; Pierce, Marnell L.
Elementary English, v43 p499-503 May 1966
This study attempted to determine whether or not there is a relationship between creativity, or divergent thinking, and bilingualism in fifth- and sixth-grade Florida students (20 monolingual Americans, 16 Greek-Americans, 17 Spanish-Americans, and 18 Czech-Americans). To assess the degree of bilingualism, the "Adapted Hoffman Bilingual Schedule" was used. Two tests were administered to determine creativity--a "Word Meanings" test in which the children were asked to supply as many meanings as possible for each of 25 American words, and a "Uses" test in which they were asked to list ways of using common objects. The bilingual students scored higher on the non-verbal "Uses" test and slightly lower on the "Word Meanings" test than did the monolingual students. Using the combined score, the bilinguals were generally higher--that is, more creative. Factors which may have influenced the results--degree of bilingualism, IQ, age, attitude toward experimenters, geographic location, rural versus urban environments, and socioeconomic and educational level of the family--were considered, but not, in all instances, controlled. (JS)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A