June 2018
Science Spotlight: Bilingualism Special
Assessment of bilingual toddlers
Researchers have developed the first toolkit to assess language development in bilingual children. Until now there has been no way for health professionals to determine if a bilingual child’s language skills were typical or if they needed additional support. The toolkit looks at the words children know in English and how much of each of the languages they are learning that they hear. This information can be used to identify whether their vocabulary knowledge is within the typical range for their language experience. Find out more.
Primary foreign languages - an opportunity for children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) to excel?
Recent changes to the National Curriculum have introduced compulsory foreign language learning for 7-11 year olds. PhD Student, Katy Finch, has been working with schools in Greater Manchester to explore the impact this is having in the classroom and in particular whether the impact differs for monolingual English speaking children and children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL). Find out more.
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New Evidence Briefing
How can we encourage parents to take part in programmes to boost their children's development?
Many settings run training and intervention programmes that are designed to help parents boost their children’s development. These programmes can have a positive influence on a range of child and family outcomes. However research shows that many families never engage with these programmes, or engage only sporadically. In a new briefing, Dr Jamie Lingwood and colleagues at the University of Liverpool outline some of the most important barriers to participation according to recent research and discuss proposed solutions. Read the evidence briefing.
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Upcoming Events
Meet the Scientists, Liverpool
 Saturday 16 June, 11am-4pm: LuCiD will join forces with Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery this Saturday for a free, family-friendly Meet the Scientists event. Visitors can take part in fun language related activities, demonstrations and, of course, meet our scientists! Find out more.
Annual LuCiD Conference
9-10 July, Liverpool: The annual LuCiD conference will be held on Monday 9th and Tuesday 10th July at the University of Liverpool. Prof Morten Christiansen, Cornell University, will give the keynote and researchers from across LuCiD will present their findings to date. Registration is open now. If you would like to attend please email Mickie Glover. |
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Watch our videos
Training videos
Evaluating Interventions - this training video by Dr Claire Noble covers how interventions work, why it is important to evaluate interventions and describes a 'gold standard' kind of evaluation known as a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). Watch the video.
The Importance of the Early Years - this presentation by Dr Rachael Cheung outlines why the early years are so important for children's development and their later outcomes. It explains how research can help and how you can access this research. Watch the video.
Watch our talks and interviews
A number of our researchers have recorded short talks and interviews answering common questions about language development, explaining what we already know and what researchers are still trying to find out. You can catch up on all of these, along with some of our LuCiD seminars on our youtube playlist.
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If you are interested in helping us answer questions about how children learn language you can sign up to take part in our studies. We are currently looking for parents of children aged 0-5 in the Lancaster, Liverpool and Manchester areas. You can 
