Professor Chan Lü of the Department of Asian Languages & Literature has been quite busy lately sharing her findings from her research on bilingualism with immigrant and other bilingual communities in the Seattle area. Last year, Prof. Lü received a grant from the Belgium-based Harmonious Bilingualism Network, or HaBilNet, on "Parenting styles, family language policy and children's language skills in Chinese immigrant families." As her research has begun to yield insights into how immigrant parents' parenting styles, beliefs and practices about language use at home may contribute to their children's language development and their socioemotional well-being, Prof. Lü has been eager to share these findings with families in the Seattle area.
In March, Prof. Lü led a workshop at a local immersion school for parents who want to raise bilingual children. In May, she was on the "Expert Talks" program at the Seattle Chinese Radio. In the program she discussed with the host a series of questions and concerns immigrant parents have about their children's bilingual development, and about immigrants' own language learning journey. The link to the recording can be found here.
Based on this project, Dr. Chan Lü will be presenting at two conferences this summer in Europe. In the near future, in addition to planned journal articles, she plans to organize more public-facing activities to engage in more conversations with the parent community.