Multilingualism in Children and Adults

Convenor: Prof Ianthi Maria Tsimpli

The aim of the seminar is to address and discuss questions on bilingualism/multilingualism in children and adults. For child bilingualism, we will concentrate on questions of development and balance as well as the relationship between bilingualism and cognition as well as bilingualism and language impairment. We will consider factors such as language input and exposure, socio-economic status, the role of the first language and the role of literacy in one or both languages. For adult bilingualism and multilingualism we will consider questions of (first) language attrition and cognitive implications of bilingualism. Research papers will be critically discussed in relation to theory, design, and materials used. Workshop type sessions will enable students to work on the design of assessment material for research with bilingual children.