Today’s workplace increasingly brings together people from diverse language backgrounds. Is this multilingualism a threat in need of a solution or a par for the course?
English is the international language of civil aviation and hence many airline pilots and controllers have to communicate in a language other than their own. What does this entail?
An interview with Julie Choi, author of “Creating a multivocal self”, about the ambiguity and vulnerability of multilingual existence and the pros that outweigh the cons.
Despite what has been maintained for too long, children with developmental disabilities can indeed become bilingual, or remain bilingual if they have grown up with two languages.
Recent research has shown that the bilingual brain uses the same neural structures and resources as the monolingual brain but in different ways. A specialist continues explaining.
One of the hottest areas of research on bilingualism is the interaction between morality and language. Does being bilingual differentiate us when it comes to moral dilemmas?
Anxiety and embarrassment are often seen as a detriment to success in foreign language learning but recent studies hint that small doses of anxiety don’t hurt.
Misunderstanding is an inevitable part of communicating in a second language. After all, how else can we learn? Sometimes, however, the price of misunderstanding is too high.
Recent research has shown that the bilingual brain uses the same neural structures and resources as the monolingual brain but in different ways. A specialist explains.
Once upon a time, in Renaissance Europe, multilingual poetry was not an exception but the norm. Was it also a secret tool for learning foreign languages?
An interesting concept in the study of bilingualism is language dominance. What does it mean? And does it depend, in part, on what a bilingual's languages are used for?
Cuban-American author Gustavo Pérez-Firmat writes poetry in both English and Spanish. Today, he talks to us about the delights and challenges of writing in two voices.
Many teachers of bilingual children practice translanguaging in the classroom. But what is it exactly and what are its linguistic and cognitive underpinnings?
Neuroscientists in Montreal link the strength of brain connections to language learning success, raising intriguing questions about the malleability of the human brain.
The debate on the cognitive advantage of being bilingual has entered troubled waters with some researchers questioning its very existence. What does the future hold?
What are the secrets of successful language learners? What strategies do they use? Professor William Fierman answers questions about his unusual multilingualism.
The person-language bond can be particularly strong in very young bilingual children. But how does it evolve over time? And do all bilingual children show it?
As researchers continue to debate cognitive advantages of bilingualism, they develop increasingly more sophisticated methods to examine our earliest experiences. A recent study of infant memory suggests that bilingual babies display better memory and ability to generalize across different contexts than monolingual ones. But what about trilingual babies?
Lost in Translation evokes different things to different people: a movie, an episode in TV series, a novel, a song, etc. But for those interested in bilingualism, biculturalism and second language learning, it is a language memoir of considerable importance that created a new genre. Its author, Eva Hoffman, kindly answers questions about her much acclaimed book.
It has been known for some time that the minds of bilinguals adjust to the linguistic and conceptual demands of different languages. Could it also be that their bodies differ in the way they process emotions and actions?
The attention that infants pay to talking faces when learning to speak, and the evolution of their behavior during their first year, is a relatively new topic in the field of child development. The differences, but also the similarities, that are found in the behavior of monolingual and bilingual infants are simply fascinating.
What is everyday interaction like in communities where everyone speaks several languages? What language learning strategies do they use? What assumptions do they make about language learning? Dr. Leslie C. Moore answers questions about the two multilingual communities in northern Cameroon where she did her research and about her own language learning in the field.
A pioneering study that showed that bilingualism has a protective effect on the onset of dementia came out eight years ago. Since then, further studies have shown similar results but some have not. This said, it now seems clear that bilingualism, along with other factors, does have a positive effect on later-life cognition.
The recent media surge of interest in polyglots is a positive development but it has a darker side: by differentiating between 'regular' multilinguals and polyglots, journalists trivialize the complexity of the language learning process. To see if there is a difference between the two, we turn to Cleopatra, the celebrated polyglot of antiquity.
People who fall in love with a new culture and language are always fascinating. Here we follow Jimmy Davis, an American songwriter and composer, best known for his song "Lover Man", who first went to France during World War II as a soldier and who finally settled there for good.
What role does your second language play in the process of third language learning? Is it an asset that facilitates and speeds up the process or is it an obstacle that interferes and slows it down?
