CCR Talk & Aperitivo: Children's Bilingual Language Development - October 2, 2015

Myths and Strategies: Children's Bilingual Language Development 

This interactive talk will discuss some of the common myths parents, teachers, and professionals hold about bilingual language development in preschoolers. For example: Do children learning two languages show a language delay? Is language mixing a cause of concern? Is it better to learn a second language after age 3, when the first language has been acquired? Is perfect bilingualism achievable? What happens to language dominance if we move to another country? How can I best maintain my child's two (or three) languages? Recent research has suggested answers to these questions. In addition, strategies parents, teachers, and other professionals can use for helping children develop one or more languages will be described, with an emphasis on fostering bilingualism.

Luigi Girolametto is a Full Professor in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology, Faculty of Medicine,

at the University of Toronto. His recent research focuses on bilingual language development in children between 2½ and 5 years of age. The children in his studies speak over 40 different languages in the home, reflective of Toronto's multicultural mix. In Rome, Italy, Luigi is working with Dr Cristina Caselli at the CNR, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, as a consultant to a screening project to determine language delay in 2 year olds. With his colleagues, he is developing a shared book reading intervention (in English and Italian) that can be used for families of children with a delay in vocabulary acquisition.

For more information on Luigi's work, go to: http://uoft.me/LuigiGirolametto. 

Everyone welcome: parents, grandparents, teachers, students -- anyone with an interest in the subject.

Where: Residence of CCR members (Prati area -- details will be sent to registered participants)
When: Friday, October 2, 2015 
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contribution: Free to attend but please bring an appetizer and/or bottle of wine (depending on the number of people in your group) for the "potluck aperitivo" that will follow.
RSVP: ATTN Linda at canadarome@gmail.com by Sept. 30, 2015