This article offers insights into trends found in 74 empirical studies on teaching and learning a foreign language (FL) in pre-primary schools in 25 countries. The emerging picture is like that of primary-school programs: most are implemented in English, mostly owing to parents' enthusiasm rather than evidence on long term FL benefits. Researchers…

This report examines the critical role of home visitors in supporting dual language development among Latino children, who represent a growing share of the U.S. population. Through surveys and interviews with home visitors, UnidosUS identified gaps in training and resources needed to effectively serve culturally and linguistically diverse…

While there is a growing body of research on second language acquisition (SLA) in children, adolescents, young and more mature adults, much remains to be explored about how adults in later life learn a new language and how good additional language learning is for them. Our goal in this article is to survey and evaluate what is known about the…

The topic of play and development has been of immense importance and controversy in early education and child development field throughout the twentieth century and into the present decade. The trend of current early education is to introduce academics sooner for younger students in order for programs to remain competitive and have parents choose…

Little is known about outcomes of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder reared in bilingual homes. There are concerns that social communication deficits among children with autism spectrum disorder may reduce the developmental benefits of early intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder raised in bilingual…

The impact of bilingual exposure on language learning has not been systematically studied in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This study compared the social abilities and language levels of children (mean age = 56 months) with ASDs from bilingual (n = 45) and monolingual (n = 30) environments. Bilingually-exposed children were subgrouped…

In a bilingual context, the mother tongue plays a key role in a child's social and personal development, in education and in second-language learning. There is a complex relationship between these three areas. Support for children receiving education through a second language is often in the form of additional learning opportunities in the second…

The current study examined the social and language development of 345 Spanish-speaking pre-kindergartners who attended pre-kindergarten programs that varied widely in how much Spanish was spoken in the classroom by the teacher. Previous studies on English language learners have focused on how the language of instruction impacts children's language…

This review describes the prenatal and postnatal development of the human cortex. Neurogenesis, neuronal migration, dendrite maturation, synaptogenesis, and white matter development are discussed. In addition, the concept of "critical" or "sensitive" periods is discussed as well as genetic and environmental influences (Nature-Nurture). The effects…

Cooperative learning is a valuable strategy for teaching secondary school students, especially useful with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds who are learning English as a Second Language. It offers a method for managing diversity, channeling peer influence into a positive force for improving school performance, and…

A discussion of the development of bilingualism in preschool-age children, intended for parents, focuses on the reasons for encouraging bilingualism and the role of family members and home environment in doing so. An introductory section offers background information on the book and a brief examination of the situation for emigrants coping with a…

The nine articles are divided into three general topics: language, cognition, and social development. Eduardo Hernandez-Chavez discusses strategies in early second language acquisition and their implications for bilingual instruction. Eugene E. Garcia, Lento Maez, and Gustavo Gonzales examine the incidence of language switching in Spanish/English…

The question of the relationship between children's play and more formal, literate uses of language is explored in the 9 studies described in this volume. Chapter titles and authors are as follows: (1) "The Influence of Discourse Content and Context on Preschoolers' Use of Language" (Lucia A. French, Joan Lucariello, Susan Seidman, and Katherine…