Bilingualism in Children and its Implications for Development

Summit, N.J., November 9, 2009 -- Bilingual Buds, the Mandarin Chinese immersion preschool and primary school based in Summit, N.J. and Manhattan, New York City (opening January 2010) will be hosting Professor Ellen Bialystok, Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at York University to speak to parents on the topic of “Children and Bilingualism – Implications for Development and Education”. 

Dr. Bialystok is one of the foremost researchers on the effect of bilingualism on children’s language and cognitive development. Many of her studies involve children ages 4-8 that demonstrate accelerated mastery of specific cognitive processes for bilingual children. Her research also examines cognitive benefits in older bilinguals. 

She has written over 6 books with many of them being required reading for graduate students studying language acquisition. Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy and Cognition explores how the language development of bilingual children differs from that of monolingual children and is based on a wide range of research on children’s development. The focus is on preschool children, examining how they learn language, how they acquire literacy skills, and how they develop problem-solving abilities in different domains. Dr. Bialystok has received numerous awards including a Killam Research Fellowship, a Walter Gordon Research Fellowship, the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Research, and the Language Learning Distinguished Scholar in Residence. She has been invited to lecture in universities around the world, covering four continents and many countries.

Bilingual Buds will be sponsoring two talks, one in New Jersey and one in New York City.  Both are free to the public and open to parents, students and educators.  The New Jersey talk will be held on Saturday, November 14 at Christ Church, 561 Springfield Avenue in Summit, N.J., from 1-3pm.  The New York City talk will be held on Sunday, November 15 at Barnes and Noble, Lincoln Center at Broadway and 66^th from 1:30-3:30 pm.  Interested attendees are invited to email admin@bilingualbuds.com to reserve a seat.

About Bilingual Buds

Bilingual Buds is a Mandarin Chinese and Spanish Immersion school for children ages 1-10.  Now in its fifth year, it was the first Mandarin Chinese school in New Jersey offering classes five days per week.  The school,  located in Summit, N.J., and New York City (January 2010) has more than 150 students enrolled in Mommy & Me classes, preschool, full-day kindergarten/1^st grade, after-school classes and summer camps in New Jersey and Beijing, China. The Bilingual Buds program, taught by native Mandarin and Spanish teachers, has been featured in The New York Times, the Star Ledger, CNN, WCBS-2 News and New Jersey’s NJN television network.