Sarah Tam 

Sarah Tam graduated from Nanyang Technological University with an Honours degree in Linguistics and Multilingual Studies, along with a second major in Psychology. Her primary interests lie in Sociolinguistics and Psycholinguistics, particularly in Language Mode and Expressive Writing. 

Bridging Languages, Easing Minds: Bilingual Expressive Writing and its Impact on Stress and Anxiety

This study investigates the effect of language mode in Expressive Writing (EW) on stress and anxiety levels of highly proficient bilingual Singaporean Chinese undergraduate students. Existing literature has shown an alarming rise in mental illnesses among undergraduates all around the world. Together with research suggesting that bilingual expression and language mode enhances emotional expression, this study aims to draw on the psychological benefits of therapeutic writing and bilingual expression to contribute towards a deeper understanding of the intersection between language and psychological well-being in a bilingual context. The sample consisted of twenty highly proficient English-Mandarin bilingual Singaporean Chinese undergraduate students, who were randomly assigned to either a monolingual mode (Control group, English only) or bilingual mode (Experimental group, English and Mandarin) groups. Over three weeks, one interest form, two well-being questionnaires and three EW sessions were administered. The undergraduate students’ baseline and post-intervention stress and anxiety levels were measured using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 and the Beck’s Anxiety Inventory respectively. Changes in stress and anxiety levels were also assessed via statistical analyses of pre-EW and post-EW scores. Analyses of the within-group and between-group comparisons demonstrated that bilingual mode EW reduced anxiety levels more effectively than monolingual mode EW, whereas EW regardless of language mode do not effectively reduce stress levels. Therefore, the results indicate the pivotal role of bilingual expression on emotional processing and emotional expression for bilinguals. On this basis, clinics and schools can consider incorporating bilingual EW into their therapy or educational curriculum. However, the limited sample size of this study warrants further research to solidify the initial findings from the present study.