Today the Language Scientists are back to present the last episode of Series 3! It’s been so interesting to have the chance to revisit some of the topics from this season. In this episode, we discuss some of our favourite insights and thoughts about this series. We discuss the differences in fluency a heritage speaker […]
Why do “The Language Scientists” keep saying that Leicester is a great location to discuss multilingualism? In this episode, Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta interviews Dr Michelle Harrison, a lecturer in French & Francophone studies at University of Leicester to discuss multilingualism in Leicester. In addition to discussing Dr Harrison’s experience working with Leicester’s Golden Mile and […]
What does it mean to be “bilingual”? How can we encourage and support parents to raise children bilingually? In this episode, Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta talks all-things-bilingual with Professor Antonella Sorace from the University of Edinburgh and Founding Director of “Bilingualism Matters”, a non-profit organisation that brings bilingualism research findings to the general public. This episode […]
In this episode Dr Marie-Josee-Bisson talks to Dr Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen about language choices in the family. How do parents decide which language they will speak to their children at home and are there rules to follow? Xiao Lan talks about Pride, Prejudice and Pragmatism and how these impact on family language decisions. Parents have a big role to play in providing […]
As a language learner in the classroom, you may feel like you’re starting from no language skills and a lot of confusion. However, as Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta and Dr Tracey Costley discuss, even a new learner is bringing in language skills from other languages. When a language teacher encourages the use of other, non-target languages, […]
In this episode Dr Marie-Josee Bisson talks to Ellie Chettle-Cully about celebrating multilingual speakers in the primary classroom. Ellie is a teacher and language lead at one of our local primary schools in Leicester, a city that prides itself on its multilingualism. What is it like to hear multiple languages in the classroom? Ellie talks about nurturing […]
In this episode Dr Marie-Josée Bisson interviews Sajan Odedra from the Jalaram Bal Vikas Gujarati language school based in Leicester. They talk about the motivations for parents and children to learn more about their heritage language. Sajan explains how many secondary schools support pupils gaining extra qualifications in the heritage language. The discussion highlights that developing your […]
In this episode Dr Marie-Josée Bisson interviews Dr Marion Krauthaker about “La petite école de Leicester” a community language school project for French speakers. Celebratory of heritage language, this is a school designed for children coming from a French bilingual background. The episode discusses exposure to the French language and the value of children being engaged in a […]
What does it mean to be a “heritage speaker”? The answer is a bit complicated. In this episode Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta speaks with Professor Silvina Montrul on the topic of heritage language speakers and what language acquisition patterns may look like. How are heritage speakers like native speakers? How are they like second language learners? […]
In this episode Dr Marie-Josée Bisson and Dr Kaitlyn Zavaleta discuss raising children bilingually. Exposure to another language does not just occur in the classroom but may also occur in the home environment. This episode emphasises that individual experiences in speaking heritage languages in the home are unique, and that home exposure to heritage languages should […]