Being up-to-date on today's research can be very helpful when raising bilingual and bicultural children. It can give us the needed encouragement to continue when we are feeling that everything we are doing is for nothing. It can also help to convince family or friends of the value of what we are doing by giving them solid facts to work with. At the very least, the research out there can be added to our pool of knowledge to help us make informed decisions on how we want to raise our children.

But we mustn't forget... research can only add to but never replace the knowledge and intuition we have about ourselves, each of our children and our family as a whole.

Keep an eye on this page as we will be adding more and more research as we come across it.

• The Unique Memories of Multilinguals
  Are the memories of multilinguals tied to the language in which they were created? Based on the findings of one study, YES! When prompted by researchers, bilinguals recalled more memories in the language of inquiry (than in the second language) and vice versa when the interview was conducted in the second language!
  
  

• Clubs Ground Students in the Language of Their Roots
  Do your children speak your language (at least some of the time) but can't read a word of it?  What about having them join an after school biliteracy club?  Such clubs are sprouting up all over the place!
  
  

• Remembering in Tongues
  Are the memories that are created in the minds of multilinguals tied to the language in which they were created?
  Based on the findings of this study, YES!
  
  

• Interested in the state of bilingual education in Asia? Damian Rivers, a native from England who has been living in Japan for 7 years, shares his research with us: "Bilingual Education in Asia: Programs, plans and policies."
  
  
  
• In 2007, Ellen Bialystok was the lead scientist on a groundbreaking study which shows that bilingualism can help to protect against dementia. When compared with monolinguals, bilinguals are shown to have a 4-year delay in the onset of dementia. Read Baycrest Research Centre for Aging and the Brain report here.
  
  
  
• Dartmouth researchers find a neural signature of bilingualism
  "Dartmouth researchers have found areas in the brain that indicate bilingualism. The finding sheds new light on decades of debate about how the human brain's language centers may actually be enhanced when faced with two or more languages as opposed to only one."
  
  

• Being bilingual protects against some age-related cognitive changes
  "Most will agree that two heads are better than one in solving problems. The same logic may be true for language and retaining cognitive processes as we age. Being fluent in two language seems to present some of the cognitive decline seen in same-age monolingual speaking persons...." To download the research paper as .pdf, upon which this article was based, click here.
  
  

• Researchers: No harm in learning two languages
  In bilingual children, brain develops as though there were two language centers.
  Excerpt: "A Dartmouth research team has determined that children exposed to two languages early in life are not language delayed, nor are they language confused, which fuels the scientific and political debate over when to introduce children to a second language..." In fact, there are benefits to raising children bilingually from the start!
  
  
  
• I Came Long Time Ago: Language Attrition in Long-Time Bilinguals
  Two researchers from the University of Toronto share their current research findings with BBFN! What an honor!
  
  

• Bilingual Children Understand Written Languages Sooner Than Monolingual Children, Study Finds
  Fluency in a Foreign Language Could Help Children Master Reading Faster.
  Excerpt: "...Knowing a second language, according to the latest research on reading, can really help a child comprehend written languages faster and possibly learn to read more easily."
  
  
  
• Research Paper from Australia
  Lindsey, an American studying in Australia, shares her expertise with us. Many of your questions are answered by this thoroughly researched paper!
  
  
  
• Culture Clash
  In the world of parenting, who decides who’s right and wrong? How does culture dictate U.S. conventional wisdom?
  
  
  
• Ethnopediatrics: Emerging field takes comparative look at parenting practices around the world
  Not sure what Ehthnopediatrics is? As a bicultural family, you'll probably be surprised at how much you already know about it!
  
  
  
• Being Bilingual Boosts Brain
  WebMD Health, October 13, 2004
  Excerpt: "People who are bilingual have an advantage over the rest of us, and not just in terms of communication skills. The bilingual brain develops more densely, giving it an advantage in various abilities and skills, according to new research".
  
  

• Never Too Early To Learn Second Tongue
  Bilingual Children Speak Well in Both Languages.
  WebMD Health, November 4, 2002
  Excerpt: "It's never too soon -- or too late for a child to learn a second language. Children who learn to speak two languages at once sound like a native in both tongues. What's more, they learn to talk at the same speed as kids who learn only a single language."
  
  

• Why Some Bilinguals Are Better Than Others
  WebMD Health, October 4, 2004
  Short-Term Memory May Help in Acquiring a Second Language.
  Excerpt: "There may be a good reason why some people have a knack for picking up foreign languages. A new study suggests subtle differences in parts of the brain that regulate short-term memory may make some people better bilinguals than others."
  
  

• Are Bilingual Children Smarter?
  by Amel Abdullah
  "For many years, parents and educators alike have worried that teaching children to speak multiple languages could confuse the brain and delay language development. Studies have consistently shown, however, that speaking two or more languages has many benefits, and that the old fears about bilingualism are largely unfounded."
  
  

• Children and Bilingualism from Kid Source Online
  Excerpt: "According to the 1990 United States Census, one in seven or 31.8 million people speak a language other than English in their home. In the past, second generation children were encouraged to adopt the customs, culture, and language of what was identified as the majority culture. Today, with greater recognition and celebration of cultural differences, people are more likely to maintain and share their primary language with their children and to promote bilingualism as a reflection of ethnic pride and identity."
  
  

• Two or More Languages in Early Childhood: Some General Points and Practical Recommendations
  From Center for Applied Linguistics.
  Excerpt: "In an increasingly diversified and multilingual world, more and more young children find themselves in an environment where more than one language is used. Similarly, with job changes that involve moving to different parts of the world, parents can feel overwhelmed by the linguistic demands on them and their children. What can parents expect of their children? Do parents have anything to contribute to the process of early language development? Does it confuse children to learn two or more languages at once? Do children have to be especially intelligent to be able to cope with more than one language?"

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Come across more research articles? Have one you've written that you'd like us to post? Email us at: info@biculturalfamily.org with the subject line "Research Additions".