Bilingualism Matters: A Centre of Excellence

Professor Antonella Sorace and University Principal Professor Sir Timothy O'Shea cut the Bilingualism Matters cake at the launch of the new Centre

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.