We wanted to share with you another interesting article about learning languages early. It’s become widely agreed that the best time to learn a language is between birth and age seven. However, scientists are now studying how children learn languages so easily in order to apply it to adults trying to master bilingualism. In an article that ran in last Tuesday’s Boston Globe, reporter Lauran Neergard spoke with Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington. Dr. Kuhl explained that as children grow they develop a brain architecture that is either configured for one language, or in the case of bilinguals, optimally structured for two languages.

Research appears to support this theory – the article mentions a test of 44 12-month-olds in which scientists found that bilingual babies were able to master two kinds of three-syllable patterns concurrently in the amount of time it took monolinguals to learn only one. They concluded that even though the children exposed to multiple languages had to process more information, “being bilingual seems to make the brain more flexible.” This suggests that once someone has learned one dominant language, it’s harder for them to adapt and learn another.

Read the full article here.

À bientôt!

July 14 is one of the most important holidays in France: Bastille Day, or as we call it, “le quatorze juillet.”

Bastille Day celebrates the anniversary of the successful storming of the Bastille fortress and prison on July 14, 1789 by the citizens of Paris. The Bastille was seen as a symbol of royal tyranny and oppression, and the uprising represented a turning point in the French Revolution.

If you’re feeling inspired to celebrate, the French Library will be throwing a celebration at the Liberty Hotel in Boston — more details on the event are here.

À bientôt!

We just came across some more compelling research underscoring the benefits of bilingual learning that we wanted to share with you. Two Northwestern University professors, Viorica Marian and Margarita Kaushanskaya will be publishing a study called “The Bilingual Advantage in Novel World Learning” in the August issue of Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. The study focused on bilinguals who learned a second language at an early age. One of the conclusions of their research is that bilingual individuals can master twice the number of words as monolinguals when learning an additional (third) language. In fact, the bilinguals studied were actually better able than monolinguals to filter out irrelevant information while learning a new language — findings contrary to the lingering concern that bilinguals become “confused” between languages in early learning.

Study co-author Margarita Kaushanskaya states: “We’re seeing that exposure to two languages early in life carries far-reaching benefits. Our research tells us that children who grow up with two languages wind up being better language learners later on.” Additionally, the study found that this benefit is not limited to similar languages – meaning a French/English speaker will have an easier time learning a language such as Japanese.

Marian and Kaushanskaya’s research also cites other interesting benefits related to bilingualism. For instance, they found that the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in bilinguals is delayed by four years on average compared to monolinguals.

We’ll post more information about the study once it’s released!

À bientôt!

We want to wish congratulations to all of the Teddy Bear Club students graduating this weekend. We hope to see many of you in our summer program soon!

À bientôt!

The Consulate General of France in Boston will be hosting a number of events tomorrow in honor of the 74^th annual Massachusetts Lafayette Day, celebrating French-American friendship. The day is named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette, a French General that served under George Washington and fought for the colonies during the American Revolution. Due to his unrelenting commitment to American independence he was made an honorary citizen of the United States – the first of only six people the same honor has ever been bestowed upon.

The celebrations kick off at 9:30 am at the State House with a reenactment of Lafayette’s famous visit there to meet with dignitaries of the time, one of many trips he would take to the city. Other activities during the day include a ceremony to present five American veterans that fought in the liberation of France in WW II with the Légion d’Honneur (France’s highest civilian and military distinction), a procession from the State House to the Lafayette Monument where a wreath will be laid and a “liberty tree” will be planted, a panel on France’s participation in the American Revolution, and a public lecture on Lafayette’s role as an anti-slavery abolitionist.

For the full schedule and to learn more about this extraordinary historical figure, please visit the Consulate General of France in Boston.

À bientôt!

Coming up on May 27 and 28 we will be holding our annual school games, with five teams of students representing various French-speaking countries: France, Monaco, Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada. We will be learning about each country, finding them on the map, playing games, and even trying some of their traditional foods from each country for goûter — waffles from Belgium, maple syrup from Canada, baguettes from France, jam from Monaco, and chocolate from Switzerland! We love teaching our students about different countries, and Les Francofolies gives children a way to experience parts of each of these distinct cultures.

À bientôt!

The Teddy Bear Club was featured and quoted in the last issue of the French publication France-Amérique. We are thrilled to be recognized for our efforts in bilingual education! To save you a trip to the newsstand, here is an excerpt from the article translated into English:

The Bilingual Preschool Boom

Contrary to many traditional preschools suffering from the economic crisis in the United States, French-English bilingual preschools are holding up quite well to the recession as confirmed by Steve Barnett, Director for the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University, by Pascale Setbon, founder of the Language and Laughter Studio in Brooklyn, and by Francois Thibaut, founder of the Language Workshop for Children in NY.

In the Boston suburb of Newton, Laura d’Angosse Perlman, founder of Le Club Nounours - also known as The Teddy Bear Club - states that enrollment has not dropped and she is even considering opening a school in New York. “Parents are coming to realize that a bilingual program is important in today’s world,” she explains. “Since our opening in 1993, we have experienced consistent growth. In 2009, this trend will continue.”

À bientôt!

Children all over France wake up Easter morning, excited to find chocolate Easter eggs and candy hidden throughout the house or the yard. Except unlike American Easter legend, the Easter bunny isn’t responsible for these presents – the eggs were brought by the Easter bells! (We call them “Les cloches de Pâques”).

According the tradition, all of the church bells in France fly to the Vatican three days before the Easter holiday. No bells ring in France from the Thursday before Easter when they depart for Italy until Easter Sunday, when they arrive back in France – with all of the Easter eggs and gifts they’ve picked up on their travels. By the time they ring again on Easter morning, all of the children know the bells are back in town and bearing gifts!

This is why if you are in France over Easter the windows of patisseries are filled with beautiful chocolate bells intricately designed and decorated, in honor of the Easter trip the bells take every year.

À bientôt!

With the start of our blog we wanted to take a moment to talk about our philosophy and why bilingual education is so important to us. Our son was raised in a bilingual environment, and we feel that in addition to the obvious benefits of speaking two languages he was exposed to cultural differences that fostered an understanding and tolerance he may not have otherwise learned.

Researchers tend to agree with our anecdotal evidence. Countless studies have demonstrated the value of learning a second language at a young age, though the idea is not a radical or new one. In fact linguist Eric Lenneberg created the critical period hypothesis (CPH) in 1967, stating there is a critical period of language acquisition that ends by puberty – thus preventing those learning a language after childhood from being truly bilingual.

From a cultural perspective, psychologists also seem to concur. The Encyclopedia of Educational Psychology states, “Bilinguals can act as links, not only within the nuclear and extended family and the community, but across societies…Because language and culture are inextricably linked, bilingualism provides the opportunity to experience two or more cultures in very authentic ways…Furthermore, because two languages provide access to a wider cultural experience, there is often a greater tolerance of cultural diversity.” (p. 106)

The encyclopedia even posits that bilinguals may have cognitive advantages over their peers, including faster progress in early cognitive development and greater understanding between objects and their labels.

We feel that the students at the Teddy Bear Club are being exposed to the same nurturing environment our son was. By learning the language, customs, food, and holidays of another country we are celebrating differences and embracing common values.

À bientôt!

We all know April Fool’s Day in the US is a day to play tricks and practical jokes. In France this custom is similar, but just a bit different. We call it “poisson d’avril” (meaning April’s fish) and the prank is always the same – children spend the day trying to attach a paper fish to other people’s backs without being noticed.

There’s no concrete evidence as to why the date of April 1st is significant, but we do know that France adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1582, shifting New Year’s Day to the first of January from the first of April. Legend has it that with the resulting confusion the “April Fools” who hadn’t yet adjusted to the new calendar were wishing people a Happy New Year in April, and practical jokes sprung up as a way to poke fun at their mistakes.

But why fish? Your guess is as good as ours – perhaps you should cut out a paper fish and try the “cultural experience” yourself!

À bientôt