Bilingual children have an edge, research shows
Monday, January 24, 2011 - 10:57
By Aaron Derfel, The Montreal
Bilingual children as young as the age of 2 start showing greater "cognitive flexibility" than toddlers who are unilingual, suggests a new study by researchers from Concordia and York universities.
The research appears to confirm what bilingualism supporters have long argued: that learning two languages -rather than "stuffing" the brains of children with too many words -actually gives them an edge over kids who speak only English or French. Earlier research showed this benefit in 5 and 7-year-olds, but the Concordia study shows it starts much earlier.
"Academic performance and school readiness are based on many abilities, but one thing is for sure: this is one ability that will be helpful. Exposing toddlers to a second language in their development provides a bilingual advantage that enhances attention control," said Diane Poulin-Dubois, Associate Professor of Psychology at Concordia University
For more information about raising children bilingually, click here to check out our new video with Speech Language Pathologist Caroline Erdos of The