October 15, 2013

Languages in the News

Language Learning Begins in Utero, Study Finds; Newborn Memories of Oohs and Ahs Heard in the Womb

A recent study by Christine Moon, a professor of psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, found that babies, only a few hours old, have the ability to differentiate foreign words from the native language used by the mother. "The mother has first dibs on influencing the child's brain. The vowel sounds in her speech are the loudest units and the fetus locks onto them," claimed Patricia Kuhl, co-author of the study and co-director of the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences at the University of Washington.

The study included 40 babies, about 30 hours old, and was conducted in two different locations with the English and Swedish languages. The babies listened to vowel sounds in their native tongue and in a foreign language. Researchers tested babies' interest in sounds by measuring the amount of time babies sucked on a pacifier that was wired into a computer that measured their reactions to sounds.

Babies sucked the pacifier longer for unfamiliar voices than for familiar ones. The difference in the sucking duration demonstrated that babies had been listening to native sounds in the womb
and were familiar with them. In the study, the babies were more interested in sounds that were different. "This is a stunning finding. We thought infants were 'born learning' but now we know they learn even earlier. They are not phonetically naïve at birth," said Kuhl.

Foreign Language Education Improves Young Students' Academic Success

This article states that early language learning is on the rise in America, despite sluggish gains in the recent past. The author notes a study being undertaken by the American Councils on International Education that highlights the academic benefits as well as the fact that dual language learners earn more money than their monolingual peers. The article focuses on the fact that programs in Oregon and Utah are models for early language education, and in spite of budgetary and curricular concerns, the general trend is to increase foreign language exposure for kids.

Tips and Tools

Websites

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Advocacy Page

 The ACTFL Advocacy page provides assistance in advocating for the study of languages.

• Take Action: Reports on current issues and legislation involving language learning, access to pre-composed letters to U.S. Senators and House of Representatives that only require typing in a name and contact information

• Who Benefits: list of reasons why students, the community, and business professionals should study other languages

• Resources: a list of advocacy materials and tools available for immediate use.
  Sign-up for the Action E-List to receive e-mail alerts when your involvement can make a critical difference and for Mega Vote e-mails to find out how your Senators and Representative vote.

UVic's Language Teaching Clipart Library: Introduction

This website provides a large amount of non-commercial drawings for use as flash cards, to insert into documents, or for display in the classroom. It is a free service and offers 3000 culturally neutral images. Each image is available on a transparent or white matted background.

Apps for iPads, iPods and iPhones

Ladybug Number Count

This free app is a simple animated picture search that counts each ladybug as it is found and tapped in ascending order. Three language options are included: French, English and Spanish. A variety of scenes are provided and complete sentences are used to reinforce the total number of ladybugs found in each picture.

Click here to see the app in iTunes.

Spanish Números – 1-100

Spanish números is another free app great for all ages of students who are learning numbers up to 100. Students can practice their reading or listening skills by choosing either text mode or voice mode. When a number is presented, four options are shown and there are no penalties for incorrect answers. This is a very stress free, user friendly app with no distractions or ads.

Click here to see the app in iTunes.

Count to Ten – Numbers Game

This app is a fast-paced game that takes place in 30 seconds. The user reads a number from 1-10 and touches the correct digit. A bell sounds and a green dot appears if the answer is correct; a boing and a red dot appear if wrong. The score is displayed at the end of the game. This app is in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Turkish, Russian, Japanese and Chinese.

Click here to see the app in iTunes.

This issue of Newsworthy was compiled by Tammy Dann. Send any comments, questions or information for future issues to her at tdann@nnell.org

Thank you to Heather Hendry, Zhihong Li, Shanon Shreffler, and Andrea Suarez for providing the links and to Amy Murphy and Alice Charkes for providing the apps used in this issue.

Thank you to Amy Murphy, Kennedy Schultz, Sally Hood and Zhihong Li for their work writing summaries.