The New Zealand Herald – Jay Kuten 
I’m reverting to an earlier passion: the brain, its mysteries and surprises. Recently there have appeared a number of studies on the benefits of bilingualism in children. In the last century researchers and pedagogues viewed children learning a second language as an impediment to learning. The resultant pedagogical philosophy delayed the introduction of “foreign” languages to the high school years, just in time for the real impediment to focused learning – adolescence. Understanding the beneficial effect of early bilingualism was fostered through my work in the neuro-anatomy laboratory of my mentor, Prof. Paul Yakovlev. His seminal paper, Motility, Behavior, and the Brain, J Nerv Ment Dis. 1948 Apr; 107(4):313-35, has remained a touchstone of my understanding of man as a being in continuing evolution, through the interdependent influence of language, innovation and socialisation.(more)