What Peppa Pig can teach us about bilingualism (and systematic reviews cannot)

September 6, 2017 by

Blog post by Thomas H Bak

Yes, I admit it: I am a great fan of Peppa Pig. Unlike fairy-tales of magic castles and princesses it depicts in an entertaining way real every-day life and teaches useful skills like how to recycle rubbish, how to make peace with your best friend after falling out with her or how to understand the seemingly irrational behaviour of your younger brother. And it is good for languages too: not only is Peppa Pig highly multilingual, available in a large selection of languages. In several episodes, Peppa interacts with people speaking other languages, whether it’s her French friend or the friendly Italians she meets on holidays. I am sure Peppa, like me, would disagree with the recent article by Simon Jenkins in Guardian that for English speakers learning foreign languages is a waste of time (1).

However, a recent Guardian article about Australia pulling off the air Peppa Pig’s “Mister Skinny Legs” episode (2) made me realise how much Peppa Pig is ahead of some parts of the scientific community when it comes to the interpretation of data. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bilingualism Matters Blog Tagged With: , ,

Explorathon 2017 @ Leith Labs 29th Sept

September 1, 2017 by

Friday 29th September 2017 is European Researchers’ Night – an opportunity for the general public to discover science, meet researchers and have fun!

We’ll be joining Explorathon 2017 at Leith Labs in Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre, Edinburgh, from 12 noon to 6pm with researchers from Bilingualism Matters and our European partner project AThEME.

We’re going to have lots of fun, language-related activities for all the family, so come along and join us, along with many other researchers, at Leith Labs!

Filed Under: News and events

Bilingualism Matters Blog

September 1, 2017 by

Welcome to the Bilingualism Matters Edinburgh blog section! We invite a wide range of contributors to get involved and stimulate discussion about bilingualism and language learning. As such, not all opinions given here represent the views of Bilingualism Matters.

Filed Under: Bilingualism Matters Blog

Scots in the Scottish Curriculum

September 1, 2017 by

Post by Adam Scott Clark

Scots is a language variety spoken in the Scottish Lowlands and in Northern Ireland. It is generally known in Scotland as Lowland Scots, to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, and Ulster Scots in Northern Ireland, to distinguish it from the variety spoken in Scotland. As it is difficult (likely impossible) to classify a language variety as a ‘language’ in its own right or a ‘dialect’ of another language, there has been some debate over whether Scots is a language or a variety of English. Whether a language variety possesses the status of language or of dialect is very often not a matter of linguistics but rather one of politics – consider for instance Danish and Norwegian, two very closely (and usually mutually intelligible) ‘languages’ that are considered ‘languages’ based on their association with independent and sovereign states and not based on their linguistic characteristics. If we consider Romanian and Moldovan, the issues over what constitutes a ‘language’ or a ‘dialect’ becomes even more apparent.

This post looks at how Scots is used in the Scottish curriculum, regardless of whether it is considered a ‘language’ or a ‘dialect.’ [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bilingualism Matters Blog Tagged With: , , ,

Questions for Bilingualism Matters experts?

August 25, 2017 by

Following the success of Antonella Sorace’s and Thomas Bak’s Edinburgh Fringe shows in the last week, we are offering everyone who was unable to attend the opportunity to put their questions directly to Antonella and Thomas on Twitter.

Our live Twitter Q&A session will take place today, Friday 25th August, from 4pm to 5pm (BST). Use #askbiling to ask your questions, and follow the discussion!

Check out the videos below to get an idea of some of the questions they were asked by the enthusiastic audiences at their packed shows.

Follow Bilingualism Matters on Twitter: @BilingMatters
Follow Thomas Bak on Twitter: @thbaketal

Filed Under: News and events

Is monolingualism making us ill?

August 21, 2017 by

Post by Thomas Bak, Co-director of Bilingualism Matters Edinburgh


Last Thursday I had a chance to see and listen to what might become one of the highlights of this year’s Edinburgh International Festival: the performance of Monteverdi’s “L’incoronazione di Poppea” by English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir, directed by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. For me, one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written, but also one of the most unsettling ones. It raises the question whether beauty can be equally perceived (and enjoyed), whether it is truthful or deceitful. Is the final, tantalisingly beautiful love duet between Nero and Poppea equally moving when we know that the feelings expressed there are not genuine, but rather reflect deceit and manipulation? This opera has been puzzling me since I had first heard it many years ago, but I believe it is exactly one of the things that great art should do: not only to please us, but also to make us think. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bilingualism Matters Blog, News and events

My love of writing bilingual stories for children

August 16, 2017 by

Guest post by Tania Czajka (Le Petit Monde Puppet Theatre)

First of all, I want to say that since the day I have learned, I’ve always loved reading and writing. I remember very well the day when I could finally read a whole Oui-Oui book (Noddy in English). I was so excited!! I was going to learn lots of new things, enter worlds of stories I didn’t know! I also remember practising writing the letters of the alphabet in my special book. Fascinating it was!

With reading and mastering writing, came ideas which I put in short poems and I also illustrated them. By the age of 10, I had a wee collection of hand made books which I absolutely loved. This love for writing and reading has never left me. So when I moved to Scotland and – very gradually – improved my English, I naturally started writing children stories using both French and English. I had this strong desire to share my French language with young children but didn’t want to become a teacher.

So in 2008, I set up Le Petit Monde Puppet Theatre and decided my puppets would speak French. By then, I had a good understanding of both languages and could easily ‘jump’ from one to the other – like bilingual children do. So I wrote full bilingual scripts for my shows starring Lapin and his friends. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bilingualism Matters Blog

Celebrate Bilingualism & Languages at Edinburgh Fringe

August 2, 2017 by

The largest arts festival in the world is kicking off this weekend here in Edinburgh!

We’re excited that two of our directors at Bilingualism Matters have fantastic shows as part of the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas that will challenge some commonly held notions about languages in modern society. Catch Antonella Sorace on 14th August ‘In Praise of Useless Languages‘ and Thomas Bak on 23rd August, ‘Is Monolingualism Making Us Ill?’.

For those of you looking for even more language treats, we’ve also been through the Fringe Programme in search of more shows that aim to celebrate languages and bilingualism, although be aware that inclusion doesn’t imply endorsement – so take a chance or check reviews! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Bilingualism Matters Blog, News and events

Twitter Q&A Session – 25 Aug

August 2, 2017 by

If you think monolingualism might be making you ill or you need to know about the hidden talents of minority languages, but can’t make along to our fantastic Edinburgh Fringe Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas shows this year, you can join our live Twitter chat on Friday 25th August 2017 from 4pm to 5pm (BST).

Professor Antonella Sorace and Dr Thomas Bak will be on hand to answer your questions. Use the hashtag #askbilingual to leave your questions.

Follow Bilingualism Matters on Twitter: @bilingmatters
Follow Thomas Bak on Twitter: @thbaketal

 

 

Filed Under: News and events

Survey – practices to assess bilingual children in UK

June 28, 2017 by

Together with colleagues in Bangor, Leeds, Reading and Oxford, we are conducting a 10-min anonymous survey to find out about current practices to assess bilingual children in the UK, in order to identify the needs for adapted tools and guidance. If you are, for example, a teacher, an SLT, a Health Visitor, an Educational Psychologist, or an Early Years Professional, thank you very much to take the time to help!

Please feel free to circulate this.

To take the survey, please follow the link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/D7Y8JSJ

 

Filed Under: Research participation