Bilingualism
Prof Antonella Sorace, Lecture/démonstration/interactive session about Bilingualism
ANTONELLA SORACE
University of Edinburgh and Bilingualism Matters
Why two languages are better than one Research shows that bilingualism in any languages, regardless of their status, prestige, and worldwide diffusion, can give children a range of mental and social benefits. Some of these benefits have also been found in adult second language learners, both younger and much older. However, there are still many myths and misconceptions about multilingualism in society. Dr. Sorace will first briefly present the main facts and benefits of bilingualism over the lifespan. She will then show how the dissemination of correct information can enable better decisions on bilingualism and language learning in different sectors of society. Antonella Sorace is Professor of Developmental Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh. She is a world leading authority in the field of bilingual language development across the lifespan, where she brings together methods from linguistics, experimental psychology, and cognitive science. She is also committed to disseminating the findings of research on bilingualism in different sectors of society. She is the founding director of the information centre Bilingualism Matters, which currently has 23 branches all over the world.