Description:

Antonella Sorace
Professor, University of Edinburgh and Bilingualism Matters

Abstract:
There are still many widespread misconceptions about learning a second language in childhood: for example, many people still think that early bilingualism makes children confused and puts them at a disadvantage at school.   In fact, research shows that when there are differences between monolingual and bilingual children, these are almost invariably in favour of bilinguals: bilingual children tend to have a better feel for how language works, a better understanding of other people’s points of view, and more mental flexibility in dealing with complex situations. Some of these benefits have also been found in adult multilinguals, both younger and older. I will first discuss the main benefits and challenges of bilingualism in any languages, and their implications for our increasingly multilingual societies. I will then talk about how our center Bilingualism Matters is enabling different community sectors, in Scotland and internationally, to make informed decisions on bilingualism and language learning across the lifespan.

Sponsored by SciLang, The Weinberg College Science of Language Initiative