Bilingualism Matters has now officially launched as a Centre at the University of Edinburgh. Bilingualism Matters began as a public information service in 2008, in response to a lack of information about bilingualism in the community. Since its inception, the service has delivered hundreds of talks – to parents, educators, health professionals, business leaders, and policy makers – and responded to almost a thousand individual written requests for advice on raising bilingual children.

On Tuesday evening, teachers, speech-language therapists, language policy bodies, consulate staff and business leaders all gathered at the University of Edinburgh to mark a new chapter in the history of Bilingualism Matters.

University Principal Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea urged his audience to ensure that language learning remains a high priority for local and national government in Scotland. He also offered a challenge for those in the audience: “If you don’t have a second language, go and get one. If you have a second language; go and get a third”.

The Principal’s speech was followed by a personal account of bilingualism, as Edinburgh resident Joana Ferrão spoke about raising her young son with both English and Portuguese languages. Joana admitted that she sometimes meets resistance from well meaning parties who worry that her son will simply grow up confused; it is then, explained Joana, that it becomes really useful – and reassuring – to know about the research backing up her hopes. Interestingly, Joana stressed that for her, as for many bilingual parents, the possible cognitive advantages of bilingualism play only a small role in their motivation to raise a bilingual family. Far more important to Joana is her relationship with her child, her sense of passing on a cultural legacy, and valuing linguistic diversity in Scotland.

As Joana said during the launch: “Nothing can be more important than this feeling of love and acceptance in giving our children the best possible start in life”.

The creation of a dedicated new Centre will allow Bilingualism Matters to build on its existing work in our communities, and help make sure that all children grow up valuing their home language.

The latest branch of Bilingualism Matters has opened in Amsterdam, as part of the major EU AThEME project.

The new branch of Bilingualism Matters is based in the Language Studio, who already host a successful language information website (Meertalig.nl). The branch launch was held to coincide with the Drongofestival , an annual festival celebrating the diverse languages and cultures in the Netherlands.

Valuing the home language

Dr Maaike Verrips, the force behind the Drongo festival and the new Director of Bilingualism Matters in the Netherlands, explained why such initiatives are needed.

“In the Netherlands, many ethnic minority parents attribute a low status to their home language. As a result, the families can end up communicating in a restricted mixture of limited home language, and limited Dutch. When parents and children don’t have a word in common, how can they communicate that concept between themselves? other parents, even the most well-educated, often worry (mistakenly) that speaking a second language will result in developmental delays in their child – completely the opposite of what research tells us. The Dutch branch of Bilingualism Matters can help make sure that when people make decisions about the language education of their children, they do so based on what we know from the scientific study of bilingualism.”

Professor Antonella Sorace travelled from Edinburgh to give a keynote address at the opening event, in which she also stressed that promoting bilingualism should not mean that we promote English above all other languages. The full video of her speech can be viewed on this youtube link , courtesy of the Drongo Festival team. An English transcript of the video is available as a pdf file: Bilingualism Matters in the Netherlands launch_Antonella Sorace

For more information about Meertalig and the Dutch branch of Bilingualism Matters, visit their website: Meertalig.nl
For more information on branches of Bilingualism Matters around Europe, visit our branches page: Bilingualism Matters branches

Bilingual puppet Lapin will be joining Bilingualism Matters at Explorathon 2014

Only one day to go until one of Europe’s largest public engagement events comes to Scotland, and Bilingualism Matters is thrilled to be taking part. Researchers will be putting on a range of events in Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, in order to bring their work to the public.

Bilingualism Matters will be available throughout the “Meet the Experts” session in the National Museum of Scotland (Edinburgh) from 13:00 – 16:30 on Friday afternoon. Come along to find out about our work in Edinburgh schools, the major new EU-funded AThEME project, or to chat to us about bilingualism or language learning. The team includes a mixture of researchers, teachers and parents of bilingual children, so now is your chance to ask us everything you ever wanted to know! About languages, that is. Particle physics is sadly not our department…

Some of you may know that tomorrow is also European Day of Languages (for those who did not know, you do now!). We are really thrilled that to help us celebrate, Le Petit Monde puppet theatre will be putting on two fantastic puppet shows alongside our stand, featuring their INCREDIBLY cute bilingual puppet Lapin. The shows are in French and English and are completely accessible to all children, whether they know any French or not.

Le Petit Monde puppet shows will take place at 14:00 and 15:00 in the Grand Gallery of the National Museum, next to the Bilingualism Matters stand. Duration 30 minutes; ages 3+.

For for information about le Petit Monde puppet theatre, visit www.lepetitmonde.co.uk

For the full Explorathon listings and to find an event near you, visit www.explorathon.co.uk

Roll up roll up and a very warm welcome to the 1st ever Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival!

Between 8th – 14th October, Edinburgh Filmhouse will be hosting a series of Spanish-language films to help ward off the autumnal chill.

With subtitles on all films, this festival is open to anyone with an interest in cinema or in Spanish/ Latin American culture (although, we also think it’s a great chance for the more rusty Spanish-speakers amongt us to sneak in a bit of practice).

The programme features films from up and coming directors such as Fernando Franco and Jonás Trueba, as well as more-established names like Icíar Bollaín, Cesc Gay and Gracia Querejeta. There really is something for everyone, from children and young people (have a look at family-friendly animation “Tad, the Lost Explorer”) to the most seasoned cinema buffs (sure-fire hits include the Oscar-nominated “15 Years and One Day”).

Find out more on the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival’s website Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival 2014