Learning A Language Makes The Brain Bigger

Randy Astaiza | Oct. 15, 2012, 11:55 AM | 6,471 | 4

AP

By peering into students’ brains, a recent study, published in the journal NeuroImage, found that learning languages can help bulk up the brain. The researchers, from Lund University, compared the brains of students from the Swedish Armed Forces Interpreter Academy, who become fluent in languages within 13 months, to science students at Umeå University, who also study hard.

Please read more here.

BILL CURRY AND SEAN SILCOFF

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail

The voice of Canada’s CEOs is urging parents to enroll their kids in Asian language classes to match them with the growing appetite of employers for multilingual workers.

John Manley, the former finance minister who now heads the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, said it is time for a national debate over how to encourage new language skills as part of the country’s trade efforts.

Please read more here.

Fifth-grader Lucy Miller, 11, works on speaking Mandarin Chinese during class at Erie Elementary School. More than 60 schools in Colorado are offering Mandarin classes to help students get a foundation in international business. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

Ivie Hunt was barely 6 last spring and had just finished kindergarten when she shocked the hostess at a Denver Asian restaurant by chatting comfortably in Mandarin Chinese.

“Here was this little blond, white girl having a full conversation with the hostess in Mandarin,” said her mother, Ann Hunt, who admitted to being a bit stunned herself.

That kind of surprise may wear off as Mandarin Chinese becomes the first choice of a growing number of second-language learners.

More language students are sayingadiosto the recent stampede to learn Spanish andhuan ying— or welcome — to mastering a Chinese dialect now spoken by an estimated 100 million non-Chinese.

Read more:Mandarin Chinese becoming first choice as second language – The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_21825189/mandarin-chinese-becoming-first-choice-second-language#ixzz2BwsyTMlc
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[some just hugely useful stuff in here. Again from our pals at the Asia Society.]

by Eleise Jones

Language learning is on the move.

For students of Chinese looking to augment a central text, there are dozens of mobile tools, applications, games, podcasts, and software ready to fill in the gaps. Last month we launched a new mobile website with lesson ideas and resources, China and Globalization. Both students and teachers are digging into the content. They tell us they find the interactive flashcards to be particularly useful.

This feedback has us thinking: What else is working in Chinese language learning? Following is a sampling of unique, new, or otherwise trending tools.

Please read more here.

[More from those lovely folks at the Asia Society’s Chinese Language Initiatives.]

by Yu-Lan Lin

In an immersion program’s grades K–6, three things happen simultaneously. Understanding these three areas will help educators develop curricula and identify the materials and resources they’ll need to support the program. First, content knowledge develops, including core concepts in math, science, social studies, and so on. Second, students learn content areas in Chinese; their academic language and social language are introduced at the same time. Third, students undertake pre-reading and pre-writing, then reading and writing.

When educators identify materials, they should keep another rule of three in mind: materials should be appropriate for age, grade, and language level. For instance, some materials developed for native Chinese children could be age-appropriate but too difficult for American students to read. Of course, in a school setting there should be a variety of books, graded reading materials, longer books, and independent reading materials.

Articulation, Alignment, Authenticity, Adoption, and Adaption

Before finding suitable materials an immersion school must have well-articulated curricula in place. Regardless of the entry point or ending point, an uninterrupted, sequential curriculum that connects from the lowest to the highest level of the program needs to be secured. This articulation of the school curriculum needs to be based on a solid alignment with the standards set for each subject area, as well as for language development in both Chinese and English.

Today, many states are aligning with the newly developed Common Core State Standards in English language and mathematics. Some states are also aligning their social studies, science, and world languages standards. In the next few years, all curriculum areas will need to align with not only the national standards, but also the Common Core State Standards.

Please read more here.

From the Asia Society Chinese Language Initiative newsletter.

by Chris Livaccari

I’ve visited many language programs across the country in recent years, and have—for better or for worse—instinctively divided them into two categories. The first are programs that leave me with the distinct impression that they are fundamentally classes that happen in a room in a school building—there’s not a lot of dynamism, authentic or experiential learning, and rarely a connection to something outside the textbook.

The second kind is far more rare, but it represents the programs that keep me engaged and invested in the language education field. These are programs where the classroom is a mere microcosm of the wider world, a jumping off point into a rich, diverse, and exciting set of experiences, interactions, and insights. In these programs, students feel a constant connection to the world around them, recognize the connections between their own lives and what is happening in school, and have a sense that the teaching and learning that they and the entire school community are engaged in matter deeply for their futures.

Please read more here.