week in links

The magic words “make them learn English” from The Economist — Immigration reform was huge this week and with that came talk of whether undocumented immigrants on their path to American citizenship should be required to learn English. As long as they’re not prohibited from speaking their native language, the author says, and I couldn’t agree more. “The solution to this apparent conundrum is very simple: bilingualism. It’s a healthy thing that Americans have historically been too suspicious of.” The U.S. needs toRead More ...

Spanish is Second Most Used Language in Twitter from Fox News Latino — Amazing news considering that “60 percent of Latin Americans are still not on the Web.” Do you use Spanish in Twitter? I do! Mexican Teachers Adapt to their American Raised Students from PRI’s The World — A look at what’s happening on the other side of the border. As some Mexicans are going back home with their American-raised children who aren’t fluent in Spanish, Mexican teachers are struggling to communicate with themRead More ...

Bilingualism and language learning has been in the news a lot more than usual since 2013 started. Take a look: Bilinguals Have Faster, More Adaptive Brains When They Get Older, Study Finds from ABC News — More proof that the benefits of being bilingual last a lifetime. You can also read Ana’s take on this study on her Babble post. Babies Seem to Pick Up Language in Utero from The New York Times — We knew babies learn to recognize theirRead More ...

When Sign Language Influences Speech by François Grosjean on Psychology Today — I don’t know sign language, but this is an interesting read for those who do. Call of Duty and World of Warcraft Double as Language Class by Laura Kane on The Toronto Star — A strong case for the benefits of online video gaming when raising bilingual children. Statewide Shortage of Bilingual Teacher Recruits Controversy in Fox Valley by Emily McFarlan Miller on The Courier-News — Hopefully many of the kids being raised bilingualRead More ...

“English Only” Laws Divide and Demean by Warren J. Blumenfeld on The Huffington Post — One of my favorite reads this week. Warren, and associate professor at Iowa State University’s School of Education, writes clearly and convincingly about why “English Only” laws should not exist. Can Bilingualism Help With Rescuing Children From Poverty from Science 2.0 — A study has found that children with low socioeconomic backgrounds who are raised bilingual have better cognitive skills than their monolingual peers. AnRead More ...