Years ago, I attended the International Dyslexia Association Conference in Washington, D.C. I attended a presentation which discussed the importance of children hearing two languages from birth. The researcher showed brain scans of what happens to brain development in that environment. He continued to say that children hearing two languages from a very early age are less likely to have reading difficulties later in life. So when my grandsons were born, I shared this research and my recommendation to take that path. These two little boys have listened to English and Spanish since birth. My nine year old grandson has scored in the 98th percentile in standardized testing for a very long time. The three year old has shown a great awareness for language, vocabulary, counting, and letters for a very long time. Of course, their parents and grandparents have provided many opportunities to hear more than two languages from birth.

On September 10^th, in Science Daily, we learn from a recent study that children are very capable of learning a second language in early childhood. Apparently the interim results from an international study are being revealed. “Children can learn a second language as early as preschool.” These findings map back to the dyslexia presentation. The brain is in a stage of plasticity from birth to 4 years old. Introduction of a second language at this stage of development would make sense. In the Science News study, ‘immersion teaching’ is the concept used. “Children are addressed in each language by the respective native speaker and asked to respond in that language.” This study is in bilingual preschools in Germany, Sweden, and Belgium. One teacher is a native speaker of English in each setting. By using receptive language measures to measure children’s English, it is clear the evidence indicates that is it feasible for children to start to learn a second language in preschool using the immersion method. Go to http://www.sciencedaily.com/ for the complete article.

Are we to conclude that introducing a second language during early childhood supports acquisition of a second language and also provides an opportunity to lessen a child's chances for reading difficulties later on in school? I will be following this research and will share with you what I learn.