Bilingual Kids in the News!

Last week, our friend Ana Flores of SpanglishBaby made an appearance on NBC's Today Show to talk about raising bilingual kids and the importance of starting early. #BilingualKids swiftly became a hot topic on twitter, and we want to keep the conversation going. First, watch the video in which Ana and Columbia professor Erika Levy make the case for bilingual kids. Note, especially, how adamantly professor Levy dispels the myth that bilingual children start speaking later than monolingual children – good news for all!

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If you'd like to continue to explore the topic of bilingual kids in the news, here are two informative articles from the last two weeks.

1. This Huffington Post piece by Dr. Gail Gross delves into the effects language can have on babies before they are born. Even in the womb, babies can begin to distinguish their mothers' voices and languages!
2. And this recent article in TIME Magazine also reveals how different languages affect the way children process and analyze information. The more languages they learn how to balance, the more analytical tools they have!

4 Eye-opening Articles on Foreign Language Learning

Every week we find ourselves geeking out over all the amazing new information about foreign language learning that we find on the internet. If you’re like us (and we think you might be since… well… here you are), you might sometimes find this wealth of information a little overwhelming. Not to worry, friends! Little Pim is here to help! Each week, we’ll cull the internet for our favorite language (and panda) related articles. This week, for your reading pleasure, four articles about the way language works inside the human brain:

1. Your Mind on Language: How Bilingualism Boosts Your Brain. The title of this HuffPo blog post might say it all, but it’s a great read for anyone who wants to read about the science of language without having to wade through all the science-ese. Dan Roitman defines common scientific vocabulary associated with the study of language and also breaks down the way the brain processes language.
2. Does Your Language Shape How You Think? You might have seen this piece in the New York Times Magazine! As it turns out, our first language may affect the way we formulate thoughts.
3. EastEnders Effect: Watching TV Can Change Your Accent. A curious phenomenon, indeed! The cockney accent (‘ello guvna!) that features prominently in the UK soap opera EastEnders has been slowly sculpting and altering the way the Scottish accent sounds.
4. Bilingualism Is Yoga for the Brain. A quick recap on the importance of starting early!

Until next time, read on!

Little Pim in the Huffington Post

What are the three things you wish you had as a kid?

The Huffington Post's Hilary Sheinbaum wishes she'd had Little Pim when she was younger.

"Little Pim easily teaches young children a second language. I'm not sure if I'm more impressed by their range of available languages including Spanish, French and Hebrew (there are 10 languages total) taught with DVDs, books and flashcards, or if I'm equally inspired by the adorable (Little Pim) Panda that teaches these dialects.

Had this bright bear been available during my youth, I would have been a seven-language social butterfly."

Read more here.