Dr. Fred Genesee
Member, CAL Board of Trustees 2010 - 2012
Dr. Fred Genesee is a Professor in the Psychology Department at McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
is interested in basic issues related to language learning, representation, and use in bilinguals and in applied issues related to second-language teaching, learning, and testing.
has carried out extensive research on alternative approaches to bilingual education, including second/foreign language immersion programs for language majority students and alternative forms of bilingual education for language minority students.
This work has systematically documented the longitudinal language development (oral and written) and academic achievement of students educated through the media of two languages -- their home language and another language.
current work focuses on immersion students who are at-risk for reading and/or language learning difficulties and how best to identify such students early in their schooling so that appropriate intervention can be provided.
Other interests include language development in internationally-adopted children and, in particular, the possibility that their language learning is subject to very early age effects.
is engaged in collaborative research with colleagues at McGill University
that is examining the neural signatures of late second language learning in typical second language learners, simultaneous bilinguals, and internationally-adopted children.
often consults with parent, educational, and policy groups on issues related to second language learning in school-age children, bilingual education, and dual language learning during the preschool years.
He has served as a consultant on these issues in a number of countries around the world.