Guest Post by Angela Grant, Pennsylvania State University Over the last few years, you may have noticed a surfeit of articles covering current research on bilingualism. Some of them suggest that bilingualism “sharpens the mind,” while other titles are clearly intended to provoke more doubt than confidence: “Is Bilingualism Really an Advantage?”. The pendulum swing […]
CNS 2013 Meeting: Language — What’s Memory Got to Do with It
Language plays a critical role in the development of the brain. As Patricia Kuhl demonstrated during Monday morning’s keynote session at CNS 2013, early childhood exposure to multiple languages not only enhances the ability to learn languages later in life, but also improves mental flexibility and creative thinking. But what can the way the brain […]
Decoding How Babies Learn Language: Q&A with Patricia Kuhl
Early language exposure plays a critical role in shaping the young brain. Even babies can discriminate the sounds of various languages, using computational statistics to make sense of what they hear. Patricia Kuhl, co-director of the Institute for Brain & Learning Sciences at the University of Washington, has been pioneering these studies over the past […]
