Article: Bilingual Kids Gain Benefits in Literacy Skills

From http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/08/bilingual-children-brain.html

Bilingual kids gain benefits in literacy skills
February 8, 2012

Bilingual children score higher on some cognitive tests than children who speak only English, a new Toronto study found.

It's known that children who grow up speaking two languages tend to be slower in picking up each language than children raised speaking just one, but the study suggests the benefits of bilingualism outweigh any drawbacks.

Bilingual children develop a deeper understanding of the structure of language, an important skill for literacy, researchers from York University said in Wednesday's online issue of the journal Child Development.

"People always ask if the languages themselves matter and now we can definitively say no," study co-author, Prof. Ellen Bialystok, of York's psychology department said in a release.

Read the full article at http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2012/02/08/bilingual-children-brain.html

Read a recent blog post by a parent arguing for the benefits of bilingualism at http://multilingualmania.com/bilingualismbenefits