Fostering Bilingualism in Your Child

December 14, 2009

 Great article–check it out.

> An article (http://www.class.uh.edu/psyc/cogdev/__docs/Zero_Yoshida.pdf
> ) in a recent issue of the journal ZERO TO THREE reviews the 
> evidence that fostering bilingualism in young children yields
> important cognitive benefits. Children who grow up exposed to 
> multiple languages learn multiple ways of expressing ideas and
> concepts. They also have to learn when to shift from using one 
> language to another. Because of these experiences, some research 
> shows that bilingual children are better than their monolingual 
> peers at regulating their thoughts and behaviors and at learning 
> words that have overlapping meanings. The impact on self-regulation 
> not only improves behavior in the classroom; it is also helpful when
> children have to adjust their thinking to solve novel problems. 
> Finally, the article discusses evidence that the knowledge gained 
> from learning in one’s native language can be transferred to another 
> language. This suggests that teaching skills and concepts in English 
> language learners’ first language — assuming they are fluent in 
> that language — may actually benefit their understanding of those 
> skills and concepts in English.

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