The Chair in Multilingualism analyses the pros and cons of bilingualism
[28/04/2008]
Albert Costa, Professor in the University of Barcelona’s Department of Basic Psychology, is to outline a number of key factors with regard to the pros and cons for those who speak more than one language in a lecture organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism this Tuesday. He analyses what is involved in the mental process required by the bilingual when expressing themselves and the advantages and disadvantages this brings with it.
Albert Costa, Professor in the University of Barcelona’s Department of Basic Psychology, is to outline a number of key factors with regard to the pros and cons for those who speak more than one language in a lecture organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism this Tuesday. He analyses what is involved in the mental process required by the bilingual when expressing themselves and the advantages and disadvantages this brings with it.
Under the title “The costs and benefits associated to bilingualism”, Dr Albert Costa is to outline various advantages, based on a number of studies, for those who commonly express themselves in two or more languages when compared with those who only use one. For example, they have a greater attention span and improved capacity to interpret conflicting information. In turn, he also speaks about the difficulties often faced by the bilingual, such as slower speech production.
This debate takes place in the context of an increasingly multicultural society and individuals who speak more than one language and grow in a context in which bilingualism, at times, is the centre of an intense of social debate about its functionality and which generates many myths with regard to the abilities of people who speak more than one language. The key factors that he outlines look to expand on questions raised, such as: is it a good idea for children to grow up in a bilingual setting?
Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism
The lecture, which is to take place this Tuesday at 7 pm, at the UOC Barcelonès Support Centre, is the first in a series this year organised by the Linguamón-UOC Chair in Multilingualism. The UOC and Linguamón-House of Languages jointly created this chair with the aim of promoting research, training, information and documentation activities related to multilingualism as a means for social and economic development of society.
Thus, it is designed to be a forum for reflection and analysis of the role of languages and multilingualism in Europe and the process of society’s globalisation, and a setting for international cooperation on academic training in the field. The Chair has organised other lectures with the aim of normalising the language situation or remedying the lack of language skills in European companies.
Humanities and Language and Literature