Euroasia: Language, Culture and Travel

Two Cornell linguistic researchers are saying that teaching children how to speak a second language is great mind food for the kids.  According to studies at the Cornell Language Acquisition Lab (CLAL), children who learn a second language can maintain attention despite outside stimuli better than children who know only one language.

Barbara Lust, a developmental psychology and linguistics expert, professor of human development and director of CLAL, says: “Cognitive advantages follow from becoming bilingual.” “These cognitive advantages can contribute to a child’s future academic success.”

Lust has been exploring language acquisition in young children for more than 30 years, across more than 20 different languages and cultures, studying which aspects of language acquisition are biologically endowed and which are learned, when and how language acquisition begins and how multiple language acquisition affects cognitive development in children.

“One of the greatest feats of human development is learning language,” says Lust. It’s remarkable, she says, “how well equipped children are, beginning at birth, to accomplish the complex task of learning language.”

Pretty amazing stuff. So if your kids are not already learning a second language, you should consider asking them to do so. If their schools are not already offering language lessons, you should also be asking their school principals why not.

Even adults benefit from learning a foreign language, with real advantages beyond dressing up a CV.  What better example for your kids than having a go at it yourself? That way French or Japanese won’t be the only subject you can’t help your child with.  Should you decide to take up some language lessons, you know you can contact the language learning experts at Euroasia.

Next intake in June and July 2009.

OK this has nothing to do with language learning, but it’s a good story anyway. Today I received an email from Heather, my National Bank manager which started like this:

Just letting you know I have taken the liberty of changing your account charge so that you will get a cheaper offering on your business chq account.

She went on to explain that she will drop our bank account fees and transaction fees, generating some savings.  I can’t remember the last time a supplier wrote to let me know they are dropping their fees. You don’t expect suppliers to do that, definitely not a bank. So if you’re looking for a great bank manager for your business, call Heather.  Her details here:

Heather Samu | Manager Business Banking National Bank of New Zealand |231 Dominion Road Auckland |
P 64-9-252-2307 | F 64-9-632-0027 |M 0274 526 390
Email her at heather.samu@nbnz.co.nz

OK, the second surprise from National Bank this week. I was playing around with my Iphone (I keep discovering new apps) and found this Iphone app by National Bank.  It’s called iBank. It’s pretty amazing. You can do all your online banking using this app, and best of all it’s free to use.  I have been complaining about National Bank’s online banking platform, which is some way behind that of ASB and even Kiwibank, but this one Iphone offering pretty much makes up for some of the deficiencies in the browser-bassed online banking facility.

I took a screenshot here:

National Bank Iphone app

I don’t know why they haven’t marketed this widely. I have to say it’s pretty good.

On the topic of Iphone apps, I’m seeing more and more language learning offerings out there. I do wonder if we should look at creating an iphone app to supplement our language courses.

p/s: Thanks Sam for showing me how to take the iphone screenshot.