Bilingualism as a potential way to strengthen psychological resources: confidence and the ability to express one’s emotions. Positive development through learning a foreign language – a pilot study

This article addresses the issue of the relationship between knowledge of a foreign language and the phenomenon of cultural frames switching and indicators of positive development and functioning in adulthood. Previous research analyses have focused on psychological resources that facilitate learning a foreign language, or on the psychological benefits of bilingualism, e.g. in children of emigrants. However, there is a lack of research focused on the development of psychological resources as a result of fluent communication in several languages. The article is a report on a study conducted in a mixed model among 64 people aged between 18 and 49 (x = 22.19; sd = 5.27). The results indicate that the participants using a foreign language, compared to their native language, notice positive differences in the level of intensity of psychological resources. When using a foreign language, the participants observe greater self-confidence, freedom in expressing emotions and communicating. An increase in the sense of one’s own competence, a positive attitude towards oneself and building bonds are fundamental indicators of a person’s positive development. The key practical implications for the functioning of children, adolescents and adults were discussed in the discussion of the results.