On 18th January, Bilingualism Matters and the University of Edinburgh Careers Service hosted the second Edinburgh Exchange, on the theme of multilingualism and business. We explored the skills and attributes developed by people with more than one language, identified some of the hidden benefits they can bring to business, and how businesses and the University can learn from each other about the practical opportunities and challenges of working with a multilingual workforce.

The audience welcomed speakers from Iberdrola, Rabbie’s Tours/Edinburgh Tourism Action Group, and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, as well as the Principal of the University, Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea. The outcomes of the roundtable discussions which followed will inform University and industry strategies on supporting multilingualism.

More information: Edinburgh Exchange 2016 – final summary report (pdf)

Bilingualism Matters Deputy Director Dr. Thomas Bak and PhD student Maddie Long are attending the official launch of Lingo Flamingo on Saturday 12th December in Glasgow.

Lingo Flamingo is a new Scottish social enterprise offering tailored foreign language workshops to older adults and to people with dementia. The language sessions will be lead by refugees and international students, using their language expertise to help vulnerable adults in Scotland. The aim is to counter the stereotype that older adults and those with dementia are incapable of learning new information, whilst also providing a form of cognitive therapy.

Dr Thomas Bak will give a short speech at the sold-out event before Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, delivers the keynote address. After speeches, guests at the launch will take part in two taster language sessions in French and Bulgarian to get first hand experience of how the project works.

Dr. Bak says: “I’m delighted to be a part of this excellent initiative which combines my research interests in bilingualism, cognitive ageing, and neurology. We know from research that language learning seems to be implicated in providing some protection against cognitive decline, so these sessions can only be beneficial to those taking part. It’s a win-win for everyone involved – the students, the teachers, and ultimately Scotland as a whole.”

For more information about Lingo Flamingo visit their website

Bilingualism Matters deputy director Dr Thomas Bak today addressed the latest cohort of qualified Gaelic teachers. Dr Bak outlined the benefits of bilingualism, with a talk entitled “How can learning Gaelic help the brain? Cognitive effects of learning languages across the lifespan”.

The talk was designed to help teachers explore the benefits of speaking multiple languages with students and their parents, as well as to encourage the teachers themselves to make the most of their language skills.

“The good news is that a lot of the benefits we are looking at are apparent in people who started learning languages later in life”, said Dr. Bak. “So even when someone does not grow up with Gaelic in their household, by becoming a qualified Gaelic teacher they are not just able to pass on the benefits of bilingualism to students in Gaelic Medium Education – they are also reaping those rewards for themselves.”

The conference is organised by Bòrd na Gàidhlig (the national body responsible for promoting the Gaelic language in Scotland), as part of range of initiatives to make sure newly qualified Gaelic teachers are fully supported.

“The demand for Gaelic-medium education continues to grow across Scotland with parents recognising how much of an advantage it gives children”, said the team behind today’s event. “As a result of this there is a need to strengthen the infrastructure of Gaelic education and learning generally by supporting the recruitment of a confident, appropriately trained workforce in order to service the expansion of Gaelic education. Along with the help of the Scottish Government, Local Authorities and further education institutions Bòrd na Gàidhlig supports initiatives to increase the range of courses available to those wishing to enter teaching, or to transfer to teaching Gaelic or through the medium of Gaelic. It is paramount to the future of Gaelic education that we continue to help facilitate the recruitment of talented individuals to educate, inspire and encourage the new generation of Gaelic speakers across Scotland.”

Get more information about becoming a Gaelic teacher in Scotland on Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s dedicated website

Bilingualism Matters is delighted to be involved in a prestigious event organised by the Financial Times and Pearson English.

On 25th November 2015, centre director Prof. Antonella Sorace will form part of an panel addressing delegates from across industry at a “Business Breakfast” seminar. These expert inputs will be followed by wider discussion around the opportunities and challenges of a multilingual workforce (or lack thereof).

Pearson English have kindly made the video of Prof. Sorace’s presentation at the Business Breakfast event available online via their youtube chanel. Watch the video here.

On Tuesday 10th November researchers from Bilingualism Matters joined teachers, parents and policy makers to celebrate the School and Family Together project, which aims to facilitate social integration through collaborative language learning.

The project, which has been running since December 2012, will come to an end on 30th November 2015. During that time, project coordinator Dr Martha Robinson has visited 6 schools and early years centres around Edinburgh, reaching over 500 children. Dr. Robinson says “SOFT is a really innovative project that involves bringing children together through learning. The children tell a story together in the target language to get them used to sounds, words and phrases – no translations allowed! Then we follow up with related activities to cement their learning – for example, singing songs together in the language or making a puppet theatre based on the characters. It’s been fantastic to see the progress the children have made – whether it be classes learning French or Spanish as part of the 1+2 languages policy, or groups of recently arrived children doing the activities in English.”

Delegates gathered at the Scottish Story-telling Centre to hear about the project’s impact, with first-hand accounts from teachers involved in the project as well as some preliminary research results. A message was read from Dr. Alasdair Allan MSP, Minster of Learning, Science and Scotland’s languages, who saw the project in action at St. David’s RC primary in Pilton, in September 2015:

“An early start to their language learning journey will deepen and strengthen our young people’s language skills, and create more enthusiasm towards further language learning. The work of Bilingualism Matters, and the S.O.F.T. project, provide an important contribution to the implementation of our ambitious 1+2 language policy, so it was wonderful to see the enthusiasm of the children taking part in the S.O.F.T. project on my recent visit to St David’s Primary in Edinburgh. Thank you for this extremely positive, contribution to language learning in Scotland.”

On 30 November 2015, Bilingualism Matters director Prof. Antonella Sorace will speak at a workshop hosted by the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (School of Advanced Study, University of London). The topic of the workshop will be “Bilingualism and Multilingualism in Legislative Drafting.

The event is free but prior booking is required.

For more information and enquirees about the event, please contact the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies .