Dr. Diego Román: Bilingualism and child development

Interview opportunity available: 

Thursday, August 20, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET

Some Spanish-speaking parents worry that raising their kids to speak both Spanish and English will set them back academically.

Available expert:

Dr. Diego Román is an associate professor in bilingual and bicultural education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He can discuss topics including:

• What research shows about how children develop language when they grow up speaking two languages at home and at school;
• What research shows about whether kids who are bilingual fall behind academically;
• How parents can support bilingual or multilingual language development at home;
• Why some children appear to lose Spanish after starting school, and what families can do to maintain it;
• What to look for in a school’s language program, and what questions families should ask;
• How schools can better support bilingual students; and
• The long-term cognitive, educational, and economic benefits of bilingualism.