Dual Language in Early Education Best for Youngest ELLs, Report Says

From http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/05/dual_language_in_early_educati.html

Dual Language in Early Education Best for Youngest ELLs, Report Says
By Lesli A. Maxwell
May 14, 2013

Young English-language learners who are still developing oral and literacy skills in their home languages benefit most in early-childhood programs that regularly expose them to both languages.

That's one of several major takeaways in a new federally funded analysis of the large, and growing, population of dual-language learners, ranging from birth to 5, already enrolled in, or headed for, early-childhood-education programs.

The analysis, released today, also underscores that dual-language learners develop language skills differently than their monolingual, English-speaking peers. Young dual-language learners, who are using two separate language systems, will take longer to reach proficiency in both languages than their peers learning only one.

Read the full article at http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/learning-the-language/2013/05/dual_language_in_early_educati.html
Access the report at http://www.edweek.org/media/policypaper-05-10-13-learning-the-language.pdf