Why Bilinguals Are Smarter

Harriet Russell

By YUDHIJIT BHATTACHARJEE

Published: March 17, 2012

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SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.

This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference.

The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’s so-called executive function — a command system that directs the attention processes that we use for planning, solving problems and performing various other mentally demanding tasks. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind — like remembering a sequence of directions while driving.

The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often — you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language,” says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving.” In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it.

The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age.

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=816787280757930789#editor/target=post;postID=4989332083947785925

Difference in brains is evident in babies

I think back; she had signs at 6 months old, but I didn't know," Schley said.

The doctor asked if their baby looked at them. Schley said she did. But now, with Alexis as a comparison, she realizes it wasn't really at them. "It was more like she was looking through us."

She babbled, as babies are supposed to do. But not at her parents.

When she played with a toy, she didn't turn to check in with her parents.

Balance and motor skills lagged. If she climbed a few stairs, she'd panic, unable to get down.

She didn't process stimulation well and would often scream in public.

Schley and her husband, first-time parents, didn't add up the clues.

"The first kid, you don't know. It's such a subtle difference," she said. "I didn't really know until I had a normal kid to compare it to."

http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_20450954/difference-brains-is-evident-babies

Top athletes develop brain strength

In 1965, the first World Congress of Sports Psychology met in Rome. It wasn't until 1977 when the Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology was formed to study the effects of the field. It has slowly built since then, but it is an integral part of any elite sports organization now. There are many areas where a psychologist plays a role in the development of athletes. At the most basic level, it comes down to mental strength. The ability to keep one's focus, to block out distractions, to understand their exact goal with each competition and each practice and the ability to survive both defeat and victory. In individual sports where a thousandth of a second can determine the outcome of glory, every edge is critical.
http://www.canada.com/sports/athletes+develop+brain+strength/6496813/story.html

Neuroscientist explains how to stimulate young brains

A person who learns by discovery has not just the information activated in a little network circuit when they remember it, while we're scanning their brains we see connections all over their brains. 


And what's wonderful, these are the time multi-hemisphere connections that light up during the "aha!" moment in a child and an adult when they've gone beyond, when they've improvised, when they've innovated, when they've taken what they know and applied it to something they never applied to it before. 


And you can't do that with learning rote facts that are on a test. You only do that building understandings and concepts. They will be the creative and innovative kids now who will be the 21st century leaders.


http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2012/s3482571.htm

Unconscious language learning

When linguists talk about unconscious or implicit language learning, they don’t mean learning while you sleep. Rather, they are talking about one of the most intriguing of all mental phenomena: the ability to learn the complex and subtle regularities that underlie a language without even realising. For children, such ‘implicit’ language learning seems to happen spontaneously in the first few years of life; yet, in adulthood, learning a second language is generally far from effortless and has varied success. So marked is the difference between first- and second-language learning – at least when it takes the form of classroom learning – it might suggest that implicit learning makes no significant contribution to learning a second language. Or it may indicate that typical foreign language teaching doesn’t take full advantage of the process. “In a teaching situation, merely teaching the rules of a language may not be the only answer,” explained Dr. Williams at the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics of Cambridge University. “Instead, using tasks that focus attention on the relevant grammatical forms in language could help learners access unconscious learning pathways in the brain. This would greatly enhance the speed of acquisition of a second language.” http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-unconscious-language.html Sam: Implicit learning highlights the strength of the immersion method of language learning. Classroom teaching focuses on one point at a time, vocabulary, grammar or comprehension. This piecemeal approach does not reflect a language in its totality. Le Beaumont opts for immersion and drops the classroom teaching approach.

The 'pushy parent' syndrome in ancient Rome

By Mary Beard
Professor of Classics, Cambridge University

What were the Romans really like? Different from us in many ways, but there is much that is familiar in Roman family life and in particular parenting.

In 94 AD young Quintus Sulpicius Maximus died.

How had he died? As his parents explain, he had collapsed from too much hard work.

"Sickness and tiredness tore me away because I devoted myself to the muses morning noon and night." In other words, he worked himself to death. By "muses" he means poetry.

So was little Sulpicius a prodigy, snatched by death from a waiting public? Or was he the victim of some very pushy parents - like all those modern kids drilled by their dad in maths, so they can grab the headlines by getting an A-level when they are six.

Who knows? But my bet is that this is a nasty case of the "pushy parent syndrome". In fact, this Roman family reminds us of one universal lesson of parenting - it's a good idea to give the kids a break from time to time.

Yet perhaps we shouldn't be too hard on Sulpicius' mum and dad. Even more than we do today, ordinary Romans invested in their children.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17701080

Neural development and early intervention

What does the term neuroplasticity refer to?

JW: What we used to believe is that most of the conditions that affected the brain caused permanent damage.

We believed some of it would be permanent and some of it would get better, but we didn't really know why.

But it turns out what happens is when the brain doesn't get enough of what it needs, or is damaged, it regrows.

But what doesn't regrow are the neurons - the brain cells that actually hold the information.

Throughout life we lose them, and that's absolutely fine because what neuroplasticity is, is the amazing ability of the brain to change, to regrow, to re-organise and to find alternative routes of reviving a function that either was never there, or was damaged.

Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to rewire the connections between neurons to give us almost limitless potential to improve from whatever state we start in.

What effect does disadvantage or a lack of stimulation have on children's brains?

JW: Kids who have had socioeconomic limits because of the type of environment they've had, whether it's high stress or whether it's inadequate stimulation, their brains will definitely show differences when you first see them.

There will be less white matter, grey matter is the neurons, and the rest of the brain structure is white matter - the connections around the neurons.

And we'll see in children who have been deprived that there is a decrease in white matter.

And we'll see, with intervention, the white matter get more plentiful and their mental functions become better and better.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-17/neuroplasticity-and-early-intervention3a-q26a/3952432

The Life Skills Report Card

The Life Skills Report Card was created to illuminate the importance of Life Skills and make communication with children – about things we are already teaching them – easier. We share an example here and invite you to personalize.

1. Personal Care -Sleep, Food & Water, Exercise, Spirit, Appearance, Safety.
2. Organizational Skills – Clothes, School, Sports, Other, Time Utilization, General Schedule.
3. Respect for Self and Others – Manners, Bedroom & Household Maintenance, Household Rules, Property of Self & Others, Transition Times, Finances.
4. Communication – Use of “I” statements, Proactive/Assertive, Creative/Humor, Solution Oriented, Listening/Feedback, Appropriate Vocabulary.
5. Social Skills – Avoids being critical/focuses on positives, Takes ownership in problems and conflicts, Shoots for win/win outcomes, Shares/Altruism, Enjoys variety of activities, Environmentally Conscious.

http://parenting2pt0.org/about/life-skills-report-card/

Back Pack Free Friday , May 4th. 2012

Lifting the Burden off Children and Schools
Sunday, April 15, 2012

WHO? Children, Schools and Families around the planet.
WHAT? Have children leave backpacks at home this day.
WHEN? Friday, May 4th. 2012
WHERE? Everywhere!
WHY? To literally lift the burden off children and schools.

Back Pack Free Friday draws awareness to the importance of children’s foundational care – sleep, hydration, nutrition, and exercise – in their daily lives. Students do not work or socialize well with others when they are tired and hungry. Add to this a pack of heavy books on their back. This is the day we say children’s health matters and we are taking action to support them.

Back Pack Free Friday Campaign is coordinated by Parenting 2.0, an international consciousness movement that aims to effect positive change in every avenue of human interaction by advocating a more proactive educational process for foundational life skills. Parenting 2.0 on LinkedIn is the top ranked parenting group with nearly 2000 members in over forty countries.

http://parenting2pt0.org/

How to learning a language

When I learned Thai, I was 19 years old, single and a missionary for my church. My church had a book and a system that they used and I was living in Thailand as well. I lived language learning. This isn’t the same with Spanish. Up until a few weeks ago, I was in a country that doesn’t have a large Spanish-speaking community. I am(have) 30 years with 4 kids and I work full-time. The strategies that I used and the overall system can’t be applied in the same way that I learned Thai.

So a big part of this blog is helping me create the pattern and system for a busy working family person. Once I created a useful pattern for learning a language, I could turn around and apply it to another. If somehow this helps anyone else learn a language, all the better. That said, I have acknowledged a long time ago that I blog mostly for myself(it’s not as selfish as that sounds)

Languages can basically be divided into four separate skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. One needs to have a plan of attack so that you build all of your skills and not just one.

I separated them into Input(listening and reading) and Output (Speaking and Writing). The reason is that the two input skills are more similar to each other than they are to the two output skills.

Divide and conquer. Now that I have separated the skills, I spend one week doing only Input based activities and the next Output.

There you go. That is not all of it, but it is enough for now. What do you think? Agree disagree? I would love to hear your opinions. Anything I can do to improve is helpful.

http://want2speakthai.com/2012/04/03/my-system-so-far-part-1/

Sam: For kids, we can deploy a different strategy, e.g. Learn to Teach, they learn in the class, they teach their mom when they go Mom. Any strategy that prompts people to take action is a good strategy.

My system to help anyone learn any language

I divide my time between Input and Output. I spend a week on input and the next on output. Using smaller time frame, such as a day, meant that you would cut the learning short just as you start getting on a role.

Step one is to gather as many resources, paid or free, into a big giant pile. These could be courses you found/purchased. Tutoring session or language exchanges. Talking to the wall, which is one of my favorites, or translating TV are examples of activities you can do to increase your language ability. If it is used to help you learn, then put it in the pile.

Once you have your pile you need to first divide them into input and output based activities/course. If the activity has you listen mostly, this includes those that show you how to speak and then have you repeat after them, than it is an input based course. If they course emphasises speaking, especially if it has you speak the word’s phrases first and then shows a correct version after, than it is an output based course.

Language activities can be either structured or unstructured.

Structured activities are activities that never go beyond what you already know. As new words are taught, they are always in the context of what you already know. Unstructured is pretty much just saying natural use of the language. Listening or using it in a situation that isn’t preplanned or pre-thought out. Natural. Both are important activities to use in your language learning.

So step two is to take your two piles and you divide each of them up into structured and unstructured activities. While you are at it would also be good to organize them into beginner, intermediate or advanced activities if they are not already done for you. The rule for this is that if the activity required spontaneous use of the language then it is unstructured. If not than it is structured.

http://want2speakthai.com/2012/04/03/my-system-so-far-part-1/
http://want2speakthai.com/tag/language-acquisition/

What is your definition of fluent ?

I define fluency as being able to reflexively use/understand the patterns of the language.

On top of that I have a strong enough vocabulary base that I can communicate around the words I don’t know and once I do know them, I can use them intuitively.

Seems pretty straight forward right? I like this definitions because it is rigid, but flexible to any language learning goal you need.

It even works for English. Yes I understand the English Grammar patterns for many situations, but I can not speak like a lawyer. I am not fluent in that part of English. Once I got used to the language patterns of Law and had a strong enough vocabulary base, I could easily say I am fluent in Law.

http://want2speakspanish.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/fluent/

How do children acquire language?

Do parents teach their children to talk?

No. Children acquire language quickly, easily, and without effort or formal teaching. It happens automatically, whether their parents try to teach them or not.

Although parents or other caretakers don't teach their children to speak, they do perform an important role by talking to their children. Children who are never spoken to will not acquire language. And the language must be used for interaction with the child; for example, a child who regularly hears language on the TV or radio but nowhere else will not learn to talk.

Children acquire language through interaction - not only with their parents and other adults, but also with other children. All normal children who grow up in normal households, surrounded by conversation, will acquire the language that is being used around them. And it is just as easy for a child to acquire two or more languages at the same time, as long as they are regularly interacting with speakers of those languages.

The special way in which many adults speak to small children also helps them to acquire language. Studies show that the 'baby talk' that adults naturally use with infants and toddlers tends to always be just a bit ahead of the level of the child's own language development, as though pulling the child along. This 'baby talk' has simpler vocabulary and sentence structure than adult language, exaggerated intonation and sounds, and lots of repetition and questions. All of these features help the child to sort out the meanings, sounds, and sentence patterns of his or her language.

http://lsadc.org/info/ling-faqs-lang_acq.cfm

Only one (A biologist looks at human language).

When we look at the languages of the world, they may seem bewilderingly diverse. From the point of view of communication systems more generally, however, they are remarkably similar to one another.

The words themselves are structured from a small inventory of sounds basic to the language, individually meaningless elements combined according to a system completely independent of the way words combine into phrases and sentences.

And the principles governing these systems of sounds, words and meanings are largely common across languages, with only limited possibilities for difference.

As the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica put it, “[...] all existing human speech is one in the essential characteristics which we have thus far noted or shall hereafter have to consider, even as humanity is one in its distinction from the lower animals; the differences are in nonessentials.”

http://lsadc.org/info/ling-faqs-howmany.cfm

Cambridge Primary Review

Now the Review presents Children, their World, their Education: final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review.

Among the many positives of modern childhood, the report celebrates the
research evidence on just how much young children know, understand and can do, and argues for an education which heeds their voices and empowers them for life as both learners and citizens.

The report also argues that childhood.s rich potential should be protected from a system apparently bent on pressing children into a uniform mould at an ever-younger age.

Matching ages, stages and structures. The English insistence on the earliest possible start to formal schooling, against the grain of international evidence and practice, is educationally counterproductive.

The Early Years Foundation Stage should be renamed and extended to age six, and early years provision should be strengthened in its quality and staffing so that children are properly prepared - socially, linguistically and experientially - for formal learning, yielding seamless progress through Foundation (0-6) and Primary (6-11). The desirability of raising the school starting age in line with these changes should then be examined

http://www.primaryreview.org.uk/downloads/revised_2011-02/FINAL_REPORT_BRIEFING_REVISED_2_11.pdf
______________________________________________________________________________________

Optimizing Early Brain and Motor Development

Connections that are not made by activity, or are weak, are “pruned away,” much like the pruning of dead or weak branches of a tree. If the neurons are used, they become incorporated into the circuitry of the brain. Due to differences in experience, not even alike twins are wired the same.

1.Provide kids with lots of sensory-motor experiences, particularly of the visual-motor variety. This would comprise activities that put together visual information with fine- and gross-motor movements. Such activities incorporate striking, kicking, and catching.

2.Include a variety of basic gross-motor actions that engross postural control, coordination of movements, and locomotion – crawling, creeping, body rolling, and jumping.

3.Combine movement activities and music. Although the jury is still out regarding the relationship between musical experience and precise academic achievement, the combination of music with movement presents an outstanding learning medium for young kids.

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/optimizing-early-brain-and-motor-development

Educational Film Library

April 11, 2012

LOS ANGELES, April 11, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Goliath Film and Media Holdings GFMH 0.00% announces that it has acquired the worldwide, five year distribution rights to approximately 1500 educational films. These include English as a Second Language and mathematics instructional materials, among others. The films can be used on a stand-alone basis as an online instructional course, or as an adjunct to traditional instructional classes.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goliath-film-and-media-holdings-announces-acquisition-of-distribution-rights-to-educational-film-library-2012-04-11

Could autism be reversed with a pill?

04/12/2012

What if autism could be reversed with a pill?

A growing body of research in mice and a handful of people is finding that autism is not a degenerative disease like Alzheimer’s, but a changeable condition, like, say, epilepsy that can potentially be controlled.

A study out Wednesday in the journal Neuron found that medication could correct the health and behavior problems of mice with a genetic condition known to lead to autism in people. The drug, which acts on the synapses, or gaps, between brain cells, reversed a vast range of symptoms often associated with autism -- including hyperactivity, impaired learning and memory, and extreme sensitivity to sounds.
Most surprising, the drug worked on adolescent mice, showing that these symptoms are reversible even after the critical period of early brain development.

“I was thrilled,” said Mark Bear, the MIT neuroscientist who led the research in collaboration with scientists from Roche.

Mice with Rett syndrome normally live about weeks, but given a bone marrow transplant from healthy mice, they live much longer -- at least some of them are still alive nearly a year later, said Noel C. Derecki, the research fellow who led the study at the School of Medicine at the University of Virginia.

Autism is due to brain malfunctions but not brain damage.

http://www.boston.com/Boston/dailydose/2012/04/could-autism-reversed-with-pill/lk78SvP6Dn9qnR0lc3gvIM/index.html

Too much TV time is a bad thing

April 11, 2012
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children younger than 2 do not watch television. This recommendation is based on the impact television has on your child’s brain development.

Early viewing is lined with an increase in attention problems, higher risk for obesity, poor social development and aggressive behavior.

Television watching is addictive. The more you see the more you want.

• Young people view an estimated 10,000 violent acts each year, with children’s programming being the most violent.

Tobacco manufacturers spend $6 billion per year and alcohol manufacturers $2 billion per year in all media, trying to entice young people into just saying yes.

http://galvestondailynews.com/story/305598

Playing to treat autism

Playing to treat autism
April 7, 2012News > TV Shows > The National

Play holds an important role in social, cognitive and language development.
Floor-time, a child-led playtime with autistic child has been proven successful in a recent study by York University.
Brain scans show how play helps autistic children become more social.

What have we learn from this?
Le Beaumont Playgroups are children-led and highly interactive.
It shows that this approach is extremely beneficial to a normal child as much as to an autistic child.
A new born baby has over 100 billion neurons, with over 100 trillion synapses, not yet connected.
Social interaction stimulates the wiring of synapses and develop the foundation for social, cognitive and language development.

Copy and paste the following link to view the 12 minutes video.
http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/TV_Shows/The_National/1233408557/ID=2220343281
Please share your thoughts.

About RSV

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes infection of the lungs and breathing passages, is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children.

In adults, it may only produce symptoms of a common cold, such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, mild headache, cough, fever, and a general feeling of being ill. But in premature babies and kids with diseases that affect the lungs, heart, or immune system, RSV infections can lead to other more serious illnesses.

RSV is highly contagious and can be spread through droplets containing the virus when someone coughs or sneezes. It also can live on surfaces (such as countertops or doorknobs) and on hands and clothing, so can be easily spread when a person touches something contaminated.

RSV can spread rapidly through schools and childcare centers. Babies often get it when older kids carry the virus home from school and pass it to them. Almost all kids are infected with RSV at least once by the time they're 2 years old.

Treating RSV
Fortunately, most cases of RSV are mild and require no specific treatment from doctors. Antibiotics aren't used because RSV is a virus and antibiotics are only effective against bacteria. Medication may sometimes be given to help open airways.

In an infant, however, an RSV infection can be more serious and may require hospitalization so that the baby can be watched closely, receive fluids, and, if necessary, be treated for breathing problems.

At home, make a child with an RSV infection as comfortable as possible, allow time for recovery, and provide plenty of fluids. The last part can be tricky, however, because babies may not feel like drinking. In that case, offer fluids in small amounts at more frequent intervals than usual.

If your child is uncomfortable and too young to blow his or her own nose, use a nasal aspirator (or bulb syringe) to remove sticky nasal fluids.

When to Call the Doctor
Call the doctor if your child has any of these symptoms:

1. high fever with ill appearance
2. thick nasal discharge
3. worsening cough or cough that produces yellow, green, or gray mucus
4. signs of dehydration

In infants, besides the symptoms already mentioned, call the doctor if your baby is unusually irritable or inactive, or refuses to breastfeed or bottle-feed.

Seek immediate medical help if you feel your child is having difficulty breathing or is breathing very rapidly, is lethargic, or if his or her lips or fingernails appear blue.

http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/lung/rsv.html#

Brain and Language Development A baby needs rich social interaction with other people during the critical periods of brain and language development in the first few months after birth. Interactive contact with other people is the only way to develop social, cognitive and language skills. Acute social deprivation can lead to language and cognitive impairment, for life. Many children born to high income highly educated parents end up as mentally retarded or language impaired in the rehabilitation centre in the Sandy Bay.

Hygiene Alert. RSV infections often occur in epidemics that last from late fall through early spring. Respiratory illness caused by RSV — such asbronchiolitis or pneumonia — usually lasts about a week, but some cases may last several weeks. We must not allow older children with running noses or common cold symptoms to attend classes in our centres. Le Beaumont keeps a very high standard of hygiene in all our 3 centres.

How To Speak Like A Native

Indeed, a growing body of evidence points to a “critical period” in childhood for acquiring correctly accented fluency in a given language; even as research on neuroplasticity has pushed the limits of what adults can learn, this boundary has remained stubbornly in place.
http://beaumont.edu.hk/web/eng/program.php?course=174

University of Alberta linguist Tracy Derwing and colleagues divided subjects into three groups: the first received foreign language instruction with no particular focus on pronunciation; the second received instruction with a focus on pronouncing the individual segments of language; and the third received “global” pronunciation instruction on the general way the foreign tongue should sound. After 12 weeks of classes, the students were asked to tell a story in their new language, and their efforts were rated by native-speaking listeners. Only the global group, the listeners reported, showed significant improvement in comprehensibility and fluency.

The intelligibility principle may be behind the acknowledged effectiveness of immersion-learning programs: when we immerse ourselves in a foreign language, particularly as spoken by natives, we’re picking up more than specific vocabulary words: we’re getting the gist of how the language is spoken, and our own attempts reflect this expansive awareness.

Few of us have the time or money to engage in complete immersion, but a good tip is to limit your conversational practice with other native English speakers. The speech of second language learners, research shows, tends to “converge” toward a version of the foreign tongue that is more like the speakers’ native language. Instead, seek out someone who grew up talking the way you want to talk, and practice, practice, practice. You won’t sound perfectly like a native, but the natives will understand you perfectly well.

http://ideas.time.com/2012/04/04/how-to-speak-like-a-native/

Brain doubles in size in the first year

April 7

The Urban Child Institute: A child's brain doubles in size in the first year of life, and by age 3 it has reached 80 percent of its adult volume; however, less than 2.5 percent of all public investments in education at all levels go to children under the age of 3.

It was evident on Feb. 28 in the conversation between Memphis Mayor A C Wharton and Leadership Academy millennials who shared their ideas for Wharton's first full term as mayor. It was a lively discussion that resulted in the mayor organizing the Mayor's Millennial Corps, a formalized way for next-generation leaders to become advisers and resources for him and his administration. On that day, Wharton talked to the participants about the importance of early childhood development to the future of our city.

Shortly thereafter, Wharton announced that he is creating a 21-member committee to advise him on the city's changing role in education. As the mayor said in his State of the City address: "In two years, city government's role in education will change, but our responsibility won't. Research indicates that what takes place outside of the classroom is just as important in determining academic success as what happens inside it.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2012/apr/07/guest-column-youngest-citizens-rightfully-lead/

What is the Newborn Behavioral Observations system?

The Newborn Behavioral Observations system is a structured set of observations designed to help the clinician and parent together, to observe the infant's behavioral capacities and identify the kind of support the infant needs for his successful growth and development.

The NBO system consists of a set of 18 neurobehavioral observations, which describe the newborn's capacities and behavioral adaptation from birth to the third month of life. While it describes the infant's capacities, the NBO provides parents with individualized information about their infant's behavior, so that they can appreciate their baby's unique competencies and vulnerabilities and thereby understand and respond to their baby, in a way that meets her/his developmental needs. The 18 NBO items include observations of the infant's capacity to habituate to external light and sound stimuli (sleep protection)
the quality of motor tone and activity level capacity for self-regulation (including crying and consolability) response to stress (indices of the infant's threshold for stimulation)visual, auditory and social-interactive capacities (degree of alertness and response to both human and non-human stimuli)

http://www.brazelton-institute.com/clnbas.html

The Fourth Vital Sign

April 7, 2012

Respiratory rate, heart rate, blood pressure- these are the three vital signs. it is time to add a fourth vital sign- relationships.

In contrast to positive or tolerable stress, toxic stress is defined as the excessive or prolonged activation of the physiologic stress response systems in the absence of the buffering protection afforded by stable, responsive relationships.

A remarkable study coming out of the Yale Child Study Center and described in the New York Times last week shows the wisdom of this focus on relationships. It was a randomized control study of the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention(CFTSI).

Steve Marans, lead author on the study, explains the results.When children are alone with and don’t have words to describe their traumatic reactions, symptoms and symptomatic behaviors are their only means of expression. And caregivers are often unable to understand the connection between the traumatic event and their children’s symptoms and behaviors. To heal, children need recognition and understanding from their caregivers.

Being understood by a person we love is one of our most powerful yearnings, for adults and children alike. The need for understanding is part of what makes us human. When our feelings are validated, we know that we’re not alone.

For a young child, this understanding helps develop his mind and sense of himself. When the people who care for him can reflect back his experience, he learns to recognize and manage his emotions, think more clearly, and adapt to his complex social world

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/health/childinmind/2012/04/relationships_the_fourth_vital.html

Early childhood education pays off, $16 to $1

"The Economic Power of Early Childhood Education in Wisconsin," was authored by Minneapolis Federal Reserve economist Rob Grunenwald and former Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau analyst Don Bezruki. It was released in March 2012.

The report states that early childhood education is one of the most cost-effective and potent economic development tools available. Investment in young children supports economic development by boosting the long-run productivity of the labor force and reducing public costs. In the cold calculus of economic analysis, repeated studies have not only confirmed the long-term value of early childhood education, but its economic payback has been estimated as high as $16 for every $1. Early childhood education programs can provide high rates of return when:

1. They are of proven high quality.
2. They reach children in greatest need, such as children in poverty.
3. They reach children well before they start kindergarten.

http://www.wpri.org/Reports/Volume25/Vol25No2/Vol25No2.html

Teaching Foreign Language Through Storytelling

By Jeanette Borich

What is the best way to help students learn a second language?
Traditionally, teachers tackle the "how" of the language. Students learn a list of vocabulary, are introduced to various rules, produce language according to those rules, and are corrected as needed.

This year I tried something different: using storytelling to help my 8th graders become more confident second-language (L2) learners. This method emphasizes the gradual acquisition of language rather than the memorization of vocabulary and rules.

http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2012/04/02/tln_borich.html

Babies’ Language Skills

Babies are able to differentiate minute sound distinctions that would otherwise be lost to adults, University of Washington professor of speech and hearing sciences Patricia K. Kuhl said on Tuesday.

“The hope is that if you have a biomarker for any of these disabilities, you could go in and do something about atypical learning patterns and change the trajectory of a child’s life,” she said.

Kuhl also discussed an experiment that proved the importance social context plays in early child language acquisition. “The more social behavior that took place during the sessions, the better learning the babies had on the phonetic level,” Kuhl said.

Kuhl further explained that babies commit the architecture of native language sound properties to propel rapidly to perceptions of foreign languages.

She said that the phonetic discriminations of a seven-month-year-old child predicted the reading skills of that child at age five.

“What children are doing early in locking onto sounds of language is a profound measurement of future learning,” Kuhl said.

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2012/4/4/professor-foreign-language-babies/

More activity at an early age will help our youngsters down the road

The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and Participaction recently released the first Canadian set of physical-activity guidelines for the early years, outlining how much infants and toddlers need to move for optimum health and development.

A mounting body of evidence suggests activity at an early age not only improves health and leads to stronger bones and improved muscle mass, it can stimulate mental development that can mean brighter children and ultimately, smarter adults.

The guidelines recommend no screen time for children under two.

ACTIVITY GUIDELINES FOR CANADIAN KIDS

The first Canadian set of physical-activity guidelines for the early years:

UNDER 1: Babies should be physically active through interactive floor-based play several times a day.

AGE 1-4: Toddlers (1-2 years) and preschoolers (3-4 years) should accumulate a minimum of 180 minutes a day of physical activity in different environments

AGE 5: That 180 minutes should include at least a one 60-minute, sustained bout of energetic play.

SOURCE: CANADIAN SOCIETY FOR EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGY
http://www.canada.com/More+activity+early+will+help+youngsters+down+road/6401602/story.html

Early life emotional trauma may stunt intellectual development

April 2, 2012 in Health

Early life emotional trauma may stunt intellectual development, indicates the first long term study of its kind, published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Analysis of the data showed that children who had been exposed to maltreatment and/or violence against the mother had lower scores on the cognitive measures at all time points.

The effects were most noticeable for those children who had experienced this type of trauma during the first two years of their lives, the findings showed.

Their scores were an average of 7.25 points lower than those of children without early exposure, even after accounting for other risk factors.

They go on to say that their findings echo those of other researchers who have identified changes in brain circuitry and structure associated with trauma and adversity in early life.

The early years of a child's life are when the brain is developing most rapidly, they say, adding, "Because early brain organisation frames later neurological development, changes in early development may have lifelong consequences."
Provided by British Medical Journal

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-early-life-emotional-trauma-stunt.html

In Immersion Foreign Language Learning, Adults Attain, Retain Native Speaker Brain Pattern

ScienceDaily (Mar. 28, 2012) — A first-of-its kind series of brain studies shows how an adult learning a foreign language can come to use the same brain mechanisms as a native speaker.

The research by researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) and the University of Illinois at Chicago demonstrates that the kind of exposure you have to the language can determine whether you achieve native-language brain processing, and that learning under immersion conditions may be more effective in reaching this goal than typical classroom training.

What happens after you've reached high proficiency in a foreign language, if you're not regularly exposed to it? Do you lose the use of any native-language brain mechanisms that you've attained? Many learners do not always have ongoing exposure, which makes this is a critical question, Ullman says.

"To our surprise, the participants actually became more native like in their brain processing of grammar (after a lapse of 6 months)," Ullman says. The brain consolidates knowledge of the foreign language as time goes on, much like it does when a person learns to ride a bike or play a musical instrument.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120328172212.htm