Tomorrow I am off to London, not to shop, but to talk. In a departure from my normal audience and topic I will be speaking to adults, about adult bilingualism. Although the main focus of my work is helping teachers and parents support child bilingual development, I am not an early bilingual myself. In fact, I came to the bilingualism game quite late, mastering my second language in my 20s. So, I know it is not always “the early bird that gets the worm”. A couple of years ago I had an idea for a talk about bilingualism, focusing on the benefits for everyone who makes the effort to learn another language, rather than just the advantages for children. It’s been bouncing about in my brain for a while, so when this opportunity came up I thought “why not”?
The talk is titled “How languages can change your life” (not a great title but it all happened quite quickly!) and it is based on the following:
Bilingualism opens minds
Bilingualism opens hearts
Bilingualism opens doors
It’s a brief foray into the world of learning and using other languages, and what we all get out of the process, whether or not we are “native-like” at the end of the day.
So, if you happen to be looking for something to do in London on Sunday, the show is free, and looks fantastic. I am speaking on Sunday afternoon, from 13:00-13:45. I always enjoy meeting blog readers (although it’s admittedly a bit odd meeting strangers who “know” me…).
on raising bilingual children 