In a non-immersion, preschool world language program, what learning outcomes are reasonable to expect? Since exposure to and engagement with new languages is typically limited in these so-called "low-input" programs, we should anticipate no more than modest gains in linguistic proficiency. Rather, early childhood language programs can,…

The impetus to begin Bilingual Buds came about six years ago when the author, pregnant with twins and commuting into New York City, was reading about the numerous cognitive benefits for children of acquiring a second language early in their lives. She was surprised to learn that even by the age of six months, children begin to lose the ability to…

The experience described by Kay Hoag, Advocacy Chair of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL), exemplifies the threat of program elimination and/or cutbacks that elementary school foreign language programs across the nation experienced with increased frequency during the 2002-2003 academic year. Reports of these threats…