British Council is delighted to welcome Dr Mirjana Bozic to talk on an increasingly relevant area of research which is having major impact on discussion on bilingualism.
Humans are capable of learning multiple languages without major difficulty, especially at an early age. While this brings obvious advantages such as intercultural communication and enhanced career prospects, bilingualism has also been linked to numerous changes to our neuro-cognitive function, most notably to the capacity for selective attention and inhibition of unwanted information (e.g., Bak et al, 2014; Krizman et al, 2012). While a large body of evidence reported that bilinguals tend to outperform monolinguals in tasks demanding attentional control and inhibition (Bialystok et al 2008; Costa et al 2009), there are also questions about the reliability and generality of such findings (e.g., Paap et al, 2015).
Dr Bozic's talk review the evidence for neuro-cognitive changes associated with bilingualism, and discuss their potential implications for the classroom environment and beyond.
The seminar is suitable for researchers, teacher educators, teachers, policy makers as well as students with an interest in bilingualism.
Please note the seminar will be in English and will take place in the Education Faculty (Sala de Conferencias)