Dear Center for Language Science and Bilingualism Matters Friends and Colleagues,
This latest issue of our Center for Language Science/Bilingualism Matters at Penn State newsletter tackles the topic of “The Science of Reading.” Given that we are a language science center, and not a reading science center, you may be wondering why we would choose to center an entire issue around reading. There are a couple of reasons for this. For one, reading and language are quite closely related: while you do not need to know how to read in order to learn language (as evidenced by one- and two-year-olds everywhere, for example!), you do need to know a language in order to read in that language. But another, and perhaps more important reason, as you will see in this newsletter, is that the Science of Reading movement teaches us about the necessity for making connections between research on a particular topic, such as reading or language, and decisions made in the public domain related to that topic, such as how to teach children. When we allow research to inform our decisions, the benefits to the public can be life-changing. We hope you will enjoy and gain inspiration from the pieces in this newsletter, including a research summary, a featured partner interview with two local experts, and a fun piece for you to try out your own knowledge of the science of reading (and language!). As always, we invite and welcome your feedback, and we wish you a wonderful 2024 and beyond!
Sincerely,
Frances Blanchette, Deborah Adeyeye, Zahaira Cruz Aponte, Daisy Lei, Pedro Millán, Kathryn Walters
Table of Contents
Check out what’s in our newest issue!