Children enrolled in the Child Development Lab in the Palmer Building are learning more than how to spell their names. They’re learning sign language and how to say “Hello” in a variety of foreign languages due to the large number of bilingual children enrolled in the program, said Joan Herwig, associate professor of human development and family studies and director of the lab. Herwig said about one-third of the students in the Child Development Lab speak at least two languages. “English is not necessarily their first language, and others could be speaking more [languages] at home, but we don’t know,” she said. Herwig said some of the students speak up to four different languages, but some don’t know their native language well. Bilingual children are enrolled in all of the five programs. The majority speak Chinese and English, followed by Korean and English, Herwig said. “The longer the children have been here, the easier it is for them to move between the languages,” she said. All classes are taught in English, Herwig said. However, the teachers incorporate other languages into the activities. All students are taught some sign language, so when they sing the good morning song, they sign as well as sing. The students also greet each other with the Korean version of good morning. “It’s a way to show children that the teacher is learning too and that the teacher appreciates the culture and their language,” said Pui-Khin Yong, a teaching assistant in the lab. Parents who have children with limited English skills are invited to stay and help during the classes. The parents are also encouraged by the lab staff to speak English at home. Graduate and undergraduate students who are able to speak Korean or Chinese also assist the children. Although, Herwig said, some children are reluctant to accept the help. “The children usually don’t want to use their `mother tongue,'” she said. “They know they need to learn English.” Yong, graduate student in human development and family studies, said she helps with the Chinese-American children, but doesn’t have to speak Chinese very often. “All of them come with at least some English,” Yong said. “There have been one or two occasions when the little boy might not have got what the teacher said, so then I would tell him.” The lab has tried to incorporate some of the traditions of the other cultures into the classes. “We’ve really tried to provide kids with a diverse environment,” Yong said. “The diversity adds to the wonderful nature of the programs because it fosters a notion of exploration and curiosity.” Besides just having plates and silverware in the kitchen area, chopsticks and rice bowls are among the things to play with. Some of the books available to the students are written in two languages and not all of the blocks are conventional. Yong said most children do not have trouble communicating with each other. “Kids are very clever and they figure out ways to communicate,” she said. “You don’t really need a language to play with blocks. It’s a universal thing to know what to do. “The only negative aspect about having multi-languages is in the terms of our own limitations,” she added. “We also have to make sure that we assume we know what is happening to others.”