Theresa Caccavale, president of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), (www.nnell.org) states, “Children who learn a foreign language beginning in early childhood demonstrate certain cognitive advantages over children who do not.” Some of those advantages are understanding object permanence, problem solving, greater critical thinking skills and increased creativity. “There is also a relationship between foreign language study and increased mathematical skill development.”

In the same article, Martha G. Abbott, the Director of Education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), (www.actfl.org) says that immersion programs work because the learning of the second language is a tool, a vehicle, for content for general education curriculum. Consequently, two things are accomplished: the student learns content (for example – math) and the second language.

Abbott also insists that all students can learn a second language in this way. Some students will have a natural talent for learning language and learn it quickly. But all students will benefit from the program.

I know that I have a preference for audial learning – I always retain more from lectures I’ve heard or conversations I’ve had. I’ve enjoyed watching the positive reaction my child has to listening to “books on tape” and the audio tours at the zoo and aquarium. She’s acquired quite an impressive collection of animal facts!

She also enjoys reading stories on a computer, especially when there’s a the post-quiz for comprehension. The website recommended by her reading teacher, StarFall.com, is a particular favorite.

And she also enjoys the occasional video-chat with her grandparents in MS and auntie in faraway Germany. Sometimes they even share songs in a sort-of global jam session!

Imagine what a rich learning environment could be created with content designed to take advantage of the features of a mobile device – images, audio, video, chat / collaboration, various apps for feedback and interaction. How much more engaged could kids be?

Links:

http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/07/mobile-learning-are-we-on-the-cusp-of-something-big/

http://www.starfall.com/

It seems to me that doing homework which repeats work done in class is good for Math – kind of like practicing an instrument or mastering the skills of a particular sport. I tend to agree with Malcolm Gladwell about the “10,000 hours to expertise” rule. And I’ve seen some kids I know master soccer and gymnastics skills through hours and hours of determined practice.

One of the guests in the KQED program, Alfie Kohn, got my attention when he said, “knowledge cannot be reinforced, only behavior can.” That really makes sense to me. Sure, I want my child to learn math, but I also want her to “learn how to learn” and to experience the joy that comes from figuring out something for herself.

The IB constructivist/inquiry approach to learning supports this “learn how to learn” approach. Yes, there is homework in IB but, generally speaking, the work isn’t merely a repeat of what was done in class. Rather, the homework enables the child to further engage in the inquiry and should be able to complete the work on their own!

What do you think?

Links:
David Brooks Blog
KQED Forum

[Photo by Simon Shek via flickr CC license]

Po the Panda learns the story of his adoption and aims to find his “real parents.” But through the story, he realizes he is very much his (goose) father’s son and learns, “no matter where you come from, what matters most is who you choose to be today!”

I hope you enjoy Kung Fu Panda 2 as much as we did !!!

Q. Many immigrants choose not to teach their children their native language. Is this a good thing?

A. I’m asked about this all the time. People e-mail me and say, “I’m getting married to someone from another culture, what should we do with the children?” I always say, “You’re sitting on a potential gift.”

There are two major reasons people should pass their heritage language onto children. First, it connects children to their ancestors. The second is my research: Bilingualism is good for you. It makes brains stronger. It is brain exercise.

My ears perked up when I saw a trailer last night…the trailer shows the Panda realizing he’s adopted (his father is a Goose) and expressing his desire to find “his real family.”

Many of us with adopted children have some sensitivity to language (preferring a term like “birth parent” over “real parent”) and to how an adoption story is told. So I went to the movie’s website and publicity sites containing quotes from the movie’s voice characters (including Angelina Jolie) which mention the movie’s “adoption theme,” but not much more.

If anyone knows of any details of the story and – more importantly – whether the adoption details are handled with care / grace / honesty, I’d love to know more.

And if anyone sees the movie before we do, please share your thoughts!

* 71% of all IB students enrolled full time at an NSC-participating postsecondary institution (2- and 4-year institution) as compared to the national average of 56%.
* 68% of IB diploma candidates and 61% of IB certificate candidates enrolled full time at a 4-year institution classified as selective or more selective.
* IB students’ overall 4-year graduation rate (64%) and 6-year graduation rate (81%) were higher than the national averages of 36% and 57% respectively. 

A summary of the findings can be downloaded here.

With available information in all fields doubling every five years and the access to that information available globally, the best jobs will not go to the person who knows the most facts. Computers will always have the edge on that and when your children enter the workforce in the 21st century, if a computer can do the job, it will.

The best jobs will go to applicants who have the skillsets to analyze information as it becomes available, the flexibility to adapt when what were believed to be facts are revised, and to collaborate with other experts on a global playing field requiring tolerance, willingness to consider alternative perspectives, and articulately communicate one’s ideas successfully.

The factory model of education still in place was designed for producing assembly line workers to do assigned tasks correctly. These workers did not need to analyze, create, or question. Automation and computerization are exceeding human ability for doing repetitive tasks and calculations, but the educational model has not changed. In response to more information, students are given bigger books and more to memorize. To provide more time for this additional rote memorization, creative opportunities- the arts, debate, and general P.E. are sacrificed to the alter of more predigested facts to be passively memorized without opportunities for students to discover the connections between isolated facts and build networks of concepts nor opportunities to apply what they learn in other contexts.

Read the full article from Psychology Today.

[Image from Psychology Today]

In other words, no matter what language a person is speaking at the moment, both languages are active in the brain.

“The evidence is very dramatic. Even if you are in a context that is utterly monolingual, where you think there is absolutely no reason to think about Chinese or Spanish or French, it is part of the activated network that’s going on in your brain,” she said.

This means that bilinguals have to do something that monolinguals don’t do — they have to keep the two languages separate. Bialystok likens it to tuning into the right signal on the radio or television: The brain has to keep the two channels separate and pay attention to only one.

“The brain has a perfectly good system whose job it is to do just that — it’s the executive control system. It focuses attention on what’s important and ignores distraction. Therefore, for a bilingual, the executive control system is used in every sentence you utter. That’s what makes it strong,” said Bialystok.

Listen to the full report.

Tracy Chu (a member of the Bay Area Chinese Education Yahoo! group) created WhereToLearnChinese.com to help families share and discover great places for learning Chinese in our communities. The directory was compiled from a number of sources, including the BACE Yahoo! group and the Mandarin Immersion Parents Council website. The site can be found here.