The Bilingual Learner: Language, Literacy, and Brain Development

Thu, 06/01/2017 - 6:02pm

When: March 16, 2017 at the Downtown Library: Multi-Purpose Room

This talk addresses common myths of bilingual children’s language and literacy acquisition along with implications of bilingualism on cognitive and brain development. It also covers best strategies for learning languages for both children and adults.

The rise in global migration has resulted in ever-growing numbers of bilingual and multilingual speakers as well as a growing number of bilingual children.

We marvel at the ease with which young children master new languages. We also fear that learning more than one language may delay children’s language acquisition. Parents, teachers, and clinicians often ask: Are bilingual infants delayed in learning to speak? Are bilingual children delayed in learning to read? Do bilinguals confuse their two languages?

Ioulia Kovelman, Ph.D. is currently Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan and Research Assistant Professor at the U-M Center for Human Growth and Development. Dr. Kovelman’s research interests are in language and reading development in monolingual and bilingual infants, children, and adults. At CHGD, she is co-director of the Brain Imaging Laboratory and conducts research on bilingual language and reading acquisition

This event was part of the "Exploring the Mind" series and was cosponsored by the University of Michigan Department of Psychology.