Archive Website: Bilingualism Matters Edinburgh

We have moved!

Visit our new website www.bilingualism-matters.org for current information on the Bilingualism Matters network, including news and events.

Bilingualism Matters Edinburgh branch information is now available on our new BM Edinburgh branch page.

Resources, archived articles and the archived BM Edinburgh newsletter are still available on this site.

About us

Bilingualism Matters is a research and information centre at the University of Edinburgh, founded by Prof. Antonella Sorace in 2008. We study bilingualism and language learning, and communicate what we know to enable people to make informed decisions based on scientific evidence. We have partner branches run by international teams of researchers in many countries around the world. We think that everyone can enjoy the benefits of having more than one language.

We believe that real change happens through dialogue between researchers and the community. We work in partnership with parents, teachers, health professionals, policy makers and employers to help create impact in people’s daily lives. There are now branches of Bilingualism Matters all over the world – check out our new website to find one near you.

Research has shown that bilingualism is beneficial for children’s development and their future. Children exposed to different languages become more aware of different cultures, other people and other points of view. But they also tend to be better than monolinguals at ‘multitasking’ and focusing attention. They are often more precocious readers, and generally find it easier to learn other languages. Bilingualism gives children much more than two languages!

More recent research also suggests that learning another language may have benefits in later life, delaying the onset of dementia symptoms, and slowing cognitive aging. The good news is that these benefits seem to exist even when people learn a second language later in life.

In 2022, Bilingualism Matters launched as a spin-out social enterprise from its original home at the University of Edinburgh. This new structure will enable BM as an organisation to better serve the international network of research centres and further our collective mission to communicate research findings on bilingualism and language learning to the wider public.

Visit the Bilingualism Matters main website

Visit the new Bilingualism Matters Edinburgh webpage