Launch of the CeLM

On 3rd September 2013 we launched the new Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM) at the University of Reading. Of course there are many Centres of Bilingualism and Multilingualism in the UK, as well as in, for example, Norway, Spain and the US, and they are already pursuing research into language learning, language processing or language teaching in bilinguals and multilinguals. So readers might wonder why we need another Centre of this kind which brings together researchers in the fields of linguistics, psychology, neuroscience and education.

The main reason for bringing researchers together in this Centre is that in particular in the UK, there is a great need for raising awareness about the fact that multilinguals are an asset and a resource. As the British Academy Report Multilingual Britain shows, we need more data to fully understand the nature and the extent of multilingualism in the UK. Policy makers, teachers and bilingual families do not always realise what the advantages are of knowing more than one language. There is more and more evidence that bilingual speakers have cognitive advantages over monolinguals because bilinguals juggle more than one language on a daily basis. Switching between languages is gymnastics for the mind, as Ellen Bialystok once put it. Bilinguals can shift more easily between tasks and focus on the relevant information in tasks, ignore what is less important. They can also be more creative and flexible than monolinguals. People who can speak and write in two or three languages are also extremely valuable on the job market, because of their ability to think outside the box. Bilinguals can open new business opportunities for business in the UK, because they have links to companies in other countries and can speak the languages of new customer groups.

While there are many studies about bilinguals, we know much less about the ways in which multilinguals process language, and we know hardly anything about the cognitive advantages of being able to read and write in a range of languages. Researchers in CeLM will focus in particular on the interface between literacy (being able to read and write) and multilingualism. Does it become easier to learn a third language when you already know two? We think that is the case, but more evidence is needed. We also hope to communicate our findings more efficiently to policy makers, families and practitioners in education and health care as we know we can only make a difference to society if we are successful in communicating our findings to a wider audience. So do follow us on our blog. You will be the first to know about our findings.

 

Jeanine Treffers-Daller

Director of CeLM