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
