"Bilingual individuals may even reveal different personality profiles when taking the same test in their two languages (Dinges & Hull, 1992). This happened when China born, bilingual University of Waterloo students were asked to describe themselves in English or Chinese (Ross et al., 2002). The English-language self-descriptions fit typical Canadian profiles: Students expressed mostly positive self-statements and moods. Responding in Chinese, the same students gave typically Chinese self-descriptions: They reported more agreement with Chinese values and roughly equal positive and negative self-statements and moods. 'Learn a new language and get a new soul,' says a Czech proverb." -- Page 376
This film exemplifies how this Mexican student felt exiled not understanding the English language. He demonstrated possible reason as to why, when speaking in a native language, it could be perceived as though the self-statements are more neutral, equally weighted in positive and negative sides. Once the new language was understood and conceptualized, he became exceptionally self-confident and excited. Due to this, it could be understood that why, when the English language was grasped, it would appear that one could be very high in self-statements of overall positiveness. I can see it in my boyfriend, bilingual in both English, his native language, and German, a learned second language through academics. When he speaks of himself in English, he is not overly positive or negative in self-statementing. When he speaks in German, he seems to be more confident, proud that he conquered a foreign concept.
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