Basking Ridge, NJ – May 20, 2011 – As the ethnic population in the US soars, Language Lizard LLC has introduced a new blog that will support teachers, librarians and families who work with dual language learners and wish to bring more multicultural education to the classroom.

For years, Language Lizard has been offering award-winning bilingual books in over 40 languages, including Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, Farsi, French, German, Gujarati, Haitian-Creole, Korean, Nepali, Panjabi, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu and Vietnamese. During this time, the company has been meeting the needs of diverse communities and making the classroom more welcoming for families of all backgrounds.

Some of the posts on the Language Lizard blog will review broad topics, such as how to involve bilingual families in the classroom or a review of new research on bilingualism. Other topics will be quite specific. For example, posts will provide sections of lesson plans that teach about specific countries or holidays; others will suggest materials to use when teaching a multicultural classroom about counting/numbers. Many of the posts will answer some of the frequently asked questions Language Lizard has received over the years from teachers and parents.

According to the US Census Bureau, in the year 2000, about 47 million people spoke a language other than English in their home, up from 32 million in 1990. Close to 20% of all US births are to foreign-born mothers, and the number of native-born Americans with close ties to another country is expected to continue to grow over the next few decades.

“The demographic changes in our country, combined with growing globalization, point to the importance of introducing children to other cultures and languages at an early age”, says Language Lizard President and Founder Anneke Forzani. “In addition, research shows that children are more likely to learn a second language well if they have a strong foundation in their first language. We hope this blog will provide the resources teachers need to help their students learn second languages and appreciate the diversity in their communities and the world.”

Language Lizard’s blog can be accessed at http://blog.LanguageLizard.com. The company’s bilingual books can be ordered at www.LanguageLizard.com or by calling toll-free 1-888-LLIZARD. Readers are invited to sign up online for the company’s free e-newsletter and complimentary lesson plans, both of which provide helpful information for parents and teachers who are trying to raise bilingual and multicultural children.