Website of the week

Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition

Check out CARLA. A great resource for teachers, administrators, parents and anyone with an interest in language acquisition. They have endless resources including teaching aids, assessment tools as well as conferences and seminars for teachers of ESL and foreign languages.

Language Resource Centers

CARLA is one of 15 Title VI Language Resource Centers funded through the U.S. Department of Education. The purpose of the Language Resource Centers is to:

•establish, strengthen and operate national language resource and training centers
•improve the nation's capacity to teach and learn foreign languages effectively
•disseminate information about foreign language teaching and learning

Other Language Resource Centers

Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research (CALPER)
- The Pennsylvania State University

The Center for Applied Second Language Studies (CASLS)
- University of Oregon

Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language & Literacy (CERCLL)
- University of Arizona

Center for Language Education and Research (CLEAR)
- Michigan State University

Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region (CeLCAR)
- Indiana University

Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC)
- San Diego State University

National African Language Resource Center (NALRC)
- University of Wisconsin at Madison

National Capital Language Resource Center (NCLRC)
- Georgetown University
- Center for Applied Linguistics
- George Washington University

National East Asian Languages Resource Center (NEALRC)
- The Ohio State University

National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC)
- University of Hawai'i at Manoa

National Heritage Language Resource Center (NHLRC)
- University of California, Los Angeles

National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center (NK-12FLRC)
- Iowa State University

National Middle East Language Resource Center NMELRC)
- Brigham Young University

South Asia Language Resource Center (SALRC)
- University of Chicago

Worried about speech delay in your bilingual child?

Well, don't worry! Bilingual children all over the world are growing and developing just fine. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has some great advice for worried parents.

Will learning two languages cause speech or language problems?

No. Children all over the world learn more than one language without developing speech or language problems. Bilingual children develop language skills just as other children do.

What should I expect when my child learns more than one language?

Every bilingual child is unique. Developing skills in two languages depends on the quality and amount of experience the child has using both languages. The following are some basic guidelines:

•Like other children, most bilingual children speak their first words by the time they are 1 year old (e.g., "mama" or "dada"). By age 2, most bilingual children can use two-word phrases (e.g., "my ball" or "no juice"). These are the same language developmental milestones seen in children who learn only one language.
•From time to time, children may mix grammar rules, or they might use words from both languages in the same sentence. This is a normal part of bilingual language development.
•When a second language is introduced, some children may not talk much for a while. This "silent period" can sometimes last several months. Again, this is normal and will go away.

If my child is having trouble communicating, should we use only one language?

In this case, it's best to talk to your child in the language you're most comfortable with. This is true even if he or she uses a different language at school. But try not to make a sudden change in your child's routine. This can be stressful.

Children who are having problems in both languages may need professional help.