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!