Catherine E. Snow

Catherine Elizabeth Snow (born December 14, 1945) is an educational psychologist and applied linguist. In 2009 Snow was appointed to the Patricia Albjerg Graham Professorship in the Harvard Graduate School of Education, having previously held the Henry Lee Shattuck Professorship also in the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Snow is past president of the American Educational Research Association (2000–2001).

Snow has contributed to theories of bilingualism and language acquisition through parent–child interaction.

Education Snow received her Bachelor of Arts in Education from Oberlin College in 1966, one year later, she earned the Masters of Arts in the same topic from McGill University. She finished her education at McGill University, graduating with a PhD in Education in 1971. considered to explain parental preference explained only 13% of variability of literacy among individuals with an internal reliability of .85. The study also noted how the more exposure a child had to either a parent, relative or sibling read to them the better it impacted the child's vocabulary. Snow argues that young learners such as children will learn a second language better in a social environment of that foreign language. For older learners, being taught by a tutor who is proficient in that foreign language will allow older learners to learn and develop their second language better. The research concluded that being orally proficient in a first-language will not be enough to develop second-language skills. The work suggested that children need to be literate in their first language to build second-language skills and having instructions in their first language will only be beneficial to their success.