Events

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Bilingualism: health and education

Saturday 1 November, 2014, 2–5pm

Faculty of English, GR 06/07, 9 West Road, CB3 9DP

As part of the Festival of Ideas, join us for an afternoon thinking about bilingualism, and its consequences for education and for health.

There are growing numbers of community language speakers in Britain – people who speak another language apart from English – and in our schools. What does this mean for education? Researchers from CRiCLE (Cambridge Research in Community Language Education) and the Faculty of Education share some of their findings.

But is it worth keeping up other languages, or even starting to learn one later in life? Thomas Bak (University of Edinburgh) talks about his research on the cognitive benefits of bilingualism in old age.

There will also be breaks for refreshment providing a chance to meet others interested in bilingualism more informally.

*FULLY BOOKED*

The afternoon will run as follows:

2 pm Cambridge Research in Community Language Education team

2.50pm Tea and coffee break

3.10pm Dr Thomas Bak

4pm Launch of community language film, followed by open discussion with the speakers

5pm Wine reception

Bilingual Myths

Faculty of English, 9 West Road,Cambridge, CB3 9DP

3.30pm Friday 20 June, 2014

We are pleased to announce that the next event by the Cambridge Bilingualism Network will take place on Friday the 20th of June from 3.30pm to 6.45pm on the theme of 'Bilingual Myths'. The event is inspired by the talk by Prof Fred Genesee in February at Cambridge Assessment.

As Prof Fred Genesee's talk was so oversubscribed, with many members of our network not able to secure a seat, Cambridge Assessment has produced a high-quality video-recording of the talk which they have very kindly shared with us. Because Prof Genesee has allowed us to use the video but has also asked us not to put it in the public domain, our event will have two parts: In the first part from 3.30pm to 5pm we will show the video of the talk and the Q&A. In the second part, from 5.15pm to 6.15pm a panel of experts on bilingualism will develop some of the themes mentioned in Prof Genesee's talk by bringing in insights from their own perspectives. We are very pleased that Prof Margaret Deuchar, Ms Gosia Bates and Ms Louise Crook, and Dr Nafsika Smith will join the panel to talk from the researcher's, teacher's and speech and language therapist's perspective respectively. A Q&A session and a wine reception will follow.

The talk by Prof Genesee and our live panel are meant to be interrelated, but while the panellists may refer to points made in the talk, their contributions will be designed to be self-standing. Please feel free to join us either for one or both of these events.

Languages in the community

Faculty of English, West Road, Cambridge 2–4:30pm, Saturday 3 November 2012

As part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, a team of Cambridge researchers and representatives from local communities talk about topics on bilingualism.

See attachments below mentioning Festival_of_Ideas_2012 for more information.

Bilingualism in our Community

Faculty of English, 9 West Road,Cambridge, CB3 9DP, Saturday 2 November 2–4:30pm,

As part of the Festival of Ideas, Cambridge researchers presented the latest findings on the benefits and challenges of growing up bilingual, considering questions such as: What can bilingualism bring to the cognitive and linguistic development of young learners? How is bilingual upbringing best supported? Researchers will share the floor with community groups supporting bilingualism in an open discussion between researchers, educators, parents, clinicians and young bilinguals on bilingual upbringing.

The Cambridge Bilingualism Network in the Press

We are delighted that Prof. Leszek Borysiewicz, the University's vice-chancellor, mentioned our Network in the context of humanities research that can have impact on the local community. You can read his op-ed in the Daily Telegraph, where he emphasizes that "Universities need Pepys as much as Newton":

www.telegraph.co.uk/education/8838679/Universities-need-Pepys-as-much-as-Newton.html.

We have also had some good press in the University's 'Research Horizons' magazine:

http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/bilingualism-is-good-for-learning/.

Let's hope we keep on spreading the message, bilingualism is a gift that needs to be nurtured.

Bilingualism in School

Faculty of English, West Road, Cambridge 2pm - 4pm, Saturday 22 October 2011, followed by an informal drinks reception

As part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, a team of Cambridge researchers and professionals in education speak about topics on bilingualism in school.

See attachments below mentioning Festival_of_Ideas_2011 for more information.

Bilingualism is an advantage

Putting into practice what professional guidelines preach: a view from speech and language therapy

Lucia Windsor Room, Newnham College, Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge 5–6:30pm, Friday 18th March 2011

Keynote speaker: Dr Carol Stow, Lead Specialist Speech and Language Therapist in Bilingualism, Rochdale Primary Care Trust.

Professional and government publications in the UK reinforce that bilingualism is an advantage. The majority of teachers and speech and language therapists encounter bilingual children in their work and need to be able to differentiate the child with 'typical' bilingual speech and language acquisition from the bilingual child experiencing speech and language difficulties. Such a child may then need assessment and intervention in their mother tongue/all the languages to which they are exposed. This presents a challenge to the professional who, in England, is typically a monolingual English speaker. Dr Stow's talk will examine the key challenges facing these professionals and suggest solutions to these challenges.

After the talk there will be an open floor discussion, followed by a wine reception.

Raising bilingual children: strengths and challenges

Faculty of English, West Road, Cambridge, 2–5pm, Saturday 23 October 2010

As part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, four Cambridge researchers speak about the advantages and difficulties encountered by parents and teachers of bilingual children.

See attachments below mentioning Festival_of_Ideas_2010 for more information.

Bilingualism: what, how and why?

Luton, 12 July 2010

Dr Napoleon Katsos and Dr Nafsika Smith visited the Polish-English community in Luton and gave a talk to teachers and parents of bilingual children. The audience were members of one of the best organised Polish communities in England, and the discussion after the talk revolved especially around matters of assimilation pressures and strategies for maintaining the bilingual environment at home when children go to school.

Raising a bilingual child: Challenges and benefits

Faculty of English, West Road, Cambridge, 4–6pm, Friday 18 June 2010

This launch event comprised brief talks from academics, teachers and clinicians working with bilingual children, and an informal discussion. Our invited speakers included Prof. A. Sorace from the University of Edinburgh, Mrs J. Christodoulou from St Lawrence Primary Catholic School, and Mrs J. Speake, Lead Practitioner Speech and Language Therapy, Cambridge Community Services. The event culminated in a lively open discussion and a wine reception.

See attachment BINC-invitation-letter.pdf below for more information.