In response to the scepticism, researchers who believe in the advantage have refined their studies—now acknowledging that, beneath their common trait, bilingual people use their languages in varying ways that may account for the incongruent previous results. Does speaking two very distinct languages have a different effect from speaking two very similar ones? What about two dialects? Does speaking more than two provide any additional benefit? Does it matter if subjects live among people who speak their first language or their second?
作為對懷疑論的回應，相信這種優勢的研究人員改進了其研究——現在承認，在有共同特征的前提下，雙語者使用其語言的方式不同，這可是之前結果不一致的原因。使用兩種截然不同的語言和兩種非常相似的語言會產生不同的效果嗎？那么兩種方言呢？使用兩種以上的語言有什么額外的好處嗎? 研究對象是否生活在講第一語言或第二語言的環境中間有影響嗎？
A recent study by four researchers at the University of the Balearic Islands is a good example. They studied 112 bilinguals using three criteria: the age they acquired a second language; fluency in their two languages (most are not equally adept in both); and the frequency with which they switch between the two options. Frequency of switching, it turned out, was the variable that correlated best with improved executive control. Unlike Mr Filippi’s, other studies have hinted that frequent switching may be a good predictor of the bilingual advantage.
巴利阿里群島大學的四名研究人員最近進行的一項研究就是一個很好的例子。他們用三個標準對112名雙語者進行了研究：學習第二語言的年齡；精通兩種語言(大多數人對這兩種語言都不熟練)；以及他們在兩種語言之間切換的頻率。結果表明，切換頻率是與提高執行控制最相關的變量。與菲利皮先生的研究不同，其他的研究已經暗示頻繁的轉換可能很好地預示雙語優勢。
On balance, it seems that if the dividend is real, it is subtle and affected by many other factors. Though wealthy parents have been taken by the notional leg-up, hiring foreign nannies for their offspring and so on, it may be poorer individuals who get the biggest benefit. A study in Hyderabad, for instance, reproduced the finding of a four-year delay in the onset of dementia among bilinguals— except that the gap was six years for those test cases who were illiterate. If switching languages is healthy mental exercise, other highly skilled, cognitively demanding kinds of labour are likely to provide good work-outs, too. People who do other forms of mental multitasking all the time may not get such a big lift from bilingualism, if they get any at all.
總的來說，如果回報真實存在，那么似乎也是不易察覺的，并受許多其他因素的影響。雖然富裕的父母們被這種名義上的鼓勵所利用，為他們的子女聘請外國保姆等等，但可能是更貧窮的個人得到的收益最大。例如，海得拉巴的一項研究重新論證了雙語者癡呆癥發病延遲4年——除了那些文盲測試者是6年。如果轉換語言是健康的腦力鍛煉，那么其他高技能、高認知要求的工作也可能提供良好的鍛煉。但如果有提升的話，那些一直在做其他形式的腦力多任務處理的人可能沒有從雙語中得到的提升大。
The bottom line is that learning another language (or teaching a child one) sometimes confers an intellectual boost, though not always. But that has never been the main reason to do it. A second language expands the number of people you can talk to. It adds to the ways you can say things, and so offers a second point of view on the whole business of expression. Bilingualism may help you understand other people; one study found that bilingual children are better at grasping other perspectives, perhaps because they are always keeping track of who speaks what, a regular reminder that everyone is different. Finally, speaking a second language less well than your first supplies another kind of useful practice: it is a constant exercise in humility.
最重要的是，學習另一種語言(或教孩子一種語言)有時會帶來智力上的提升，但并不總是如此。但這從來都不是這么做的主要原因。第二外語可以增加可以交談的人的數量。豐富了講話形式，這就為我們提供了關于表達的第二種觀點。雙語可以幫助你理解他人；一項研究發現，掌握雙語的孩子在理解其他觀點方面做得更好，這可能是因為他們總是在跟蹤誰在說什么，這經常提醒他們，每個人都是不同的。最后，說第二種語言沒有你的母語說得好提供了另一種有用的練習：一種持續的謙虛練習。
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