ALEXANDRIA, VA — ACTFL Executive Director Martha G. Abbott has been appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Security Education Board. “It is truly an honor to be appointed by the President to serve in this capacity on the National Security Education Board advising on the important work of building our nation’s linguistic and […]
Continue readingACTFL Establishes Center for Assessment, Research & Development
ALEXANDRIA, VA – The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) announces the establishment of the ACTFL Center for Assessment, Research and Development. The ACTFL Board of Directors approved the proposal for the Center during its May 13-15 annual meeting. The mission of the Center is to support PK-12 schools and institutions of […]
Continue readingSuperior Social Skills Tied To Bilinguals
It’s well-known that being bilingual has obvious advantages. Some of which are that it allows you to take advantage of new experiences new conversations. But in recent years, psychology researchers have demonstrated some less obvious advantages of bilingualism, too. For instance, bilingual children may enjoy certain cognitive benefits, such as improved executive function — which is critical for problem solving […]
Continue readingTalking Toys: Helping or Hurting Young Language Learners?
A new and very interesting study in JAMA Pediatrics discovered that toys marketed as language promoters don’t prove to be so in most cases. In fact, the study found that these toys in fact, hindered the language learning process in young children. Professor Anna Sosa, of Northern Arizona University, led the study and provided participating families three different types […]
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