Bilingualism and Special Needs

bilingual mother and child

 

Adam Beck has compiled an incredibly helpful and inspiring list of resources on bilingualism and special needs, with many parents’ contributions about how bilingualism has lessened or alleviated the difficulties inherent to their children’s education.

Check it out here

Bilingualism and Special Needs

bilingual mother and child

 

Adam Beck has compiled an incredibly helpful and inspiring list of resources on bilingualism and special needs, with many parents’ contributions about how bilingualism has lessened or alleviated the difficulties inherent to their children’s education.

Check it out here

Learning young, Antonella Sorace writes for the Scotsman

Antonella Sorace has written an opinion piece for the Scotsman outlining the importance of learning languages when young. Professor Sorace of Bilingualism Matters highlights the Early Learning of Chinese Project as an example of young language learning in action: primary school students across East Lothian have been learning Mandarin from native Chinese speakers. The Early Learning of Chinese project is a pilot project for the Scottish government’s 1+2 language programme, and is part of our wider commitment to support language learning and teaching in Scotland.

You can read Antonella’s article here.

To learn more about the Early Learning of Chinese Project, visit the Scotland China Education Network‘s site.

For more details on the Scottish government’s 1+2 languages plan, you can view the Languages Working Group report and recommendations.

UofE study on Bilingualism and Dementia takes the media by storm

 

A study about bilingualism and dementia led by the University of Edinburgh’s own Thomas Bak, in partnership with Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences in Hyderabad, India has taken the media by storm.

It has been reviewed and reported in over a hundred media sources, including national networks such as the BBC and NBC news, CBS and SPS, dailies such as the Huffington Post and the Times of India and the Japan Times  and health web platforms such as the NHS or Health24, or scientific publications such as the New ScientistScienceDaily and the National Geographic.

The study, published in the American magazine Neurology, surveyed over 600 patients and found that on average, bilingual patients developed dementia 4.5 years later than monolingual ones, irrespective of educational achievement, sex, profession or lifestyle. This is the first study of its kind to include illiterate subjects, showing that bilingualism is a health asset for anyone. The study was even reported by the Daily Mail, which reads that being bilingual could be better than any currently available medication as a cure for dementia.

It is encouraging to see how widely this publication has been received, we hope that it will encourage parents to protect their linguistic heritage and teach their children to do the same.

Tromsø International Conference on Language Diversity

Tromso International Conference on Language Diversity

Antonella Sorace sat on the panel of a debate about linguistic diversity and education in the Tromsø International Conference on Language Diversity. The Conference took place on 7th November 2013 as part the Norwegian Language Year. 

For more information about the Norwegian language Year, visit the Språkåret 2013 website.

Conference Program

The conference boasted a lively and engaging program, including:

  • six internationally renowned keynote speakers
  • three invited workshops
  • two accepted thematic workshops
  • two panel discussions
  • a panel debate
  • almost 40 exiting general session papers drawing on a variety of languages and language situations
  • To learn more about the conference and to watch the keynote speeches and panel discussions click here.

    University of Edinburgh

    The University was well-represented at the conference. Professor Sorace also led a workshop about “Bilingualism, Biliteracy and Cognition” with Yulia Rodina from Tromsø University.
    Students Mariana Vega-Mendoza and Holly West, and lecturer Dr. Thomas Bak were present to talk about their work on late unbalanced bilingualism.
    Dr. Fiona O’Hanlon from the University’s Celtic and Scottish studies department presented the case of Gaelic-medium education in Scotland.