Héctor Tobar and Roland Betancourt are named 2023 Guggenheim Fellows

University of California, Irvine writers and scholars Roland Betancourt and Héctor Tobar have been awarded 2023 Guggenheim Fellowships. They join 169 other American and Canadian scientists and scholars in the social sciences and humanities, as well as writers and artists of all kinds, receiving the prestigious grants this year.

Language Trade-off? No, Bilingual Children Reliably Acquire English by Age 5

A first-of-its kind study in U.S.-born children from Spanish-speaking families finds that minority language exposure does not threaten the acquisition of English by children in the U.S. and that there is no trade-off between English and Spanish. Rather, children reliably acquire English by age 5, and their total language knowledge is greater to the degree that they also acquire Spanish. Children’s level of English knowledge was independent of their level of Spanish knowledge.

Chula’s Award-Wining App Offers Us a Fun Way to Learn English Anytime, Anywhere

“MALLO” mobile application endorsed by a silver medal from the 2020 Taiwan Kaohsiung International Invention and Design Expo that curates a variety of English- learning applications that users can add or delete at will is a great answer to digital-age learners who wish to set their own fun study plans.

To Learn English, Bilingual Children Need Robust Vocabulary from Parents and Caregivers

A study examining parents’ vocabulary and grammar as an influence on children’s acquisition of English, shows that the quality of child-directed speech depends on the speaker’s language proficiency. Children who hear a rich vocabulary acquire a rich vocabulary and children who hear a rich vocabulary in full sentences acquire the ability to put their words together in full sentences. Findings have broad implications for immigrant parents’ language choices at home and for staffing practices in early care and education centers.