FEB 3 : SEE YOU AT THE BILINGUAL FAIR

From 10am to 4pm | Le Méridien in San Francisco

Get your tickets

What to look for? ...Compelling Conferences from Bilingualism Professionals!

The day will be filled with plenty of fun and informative activities. Conferences are scheduled from 10:00 am till 3pm. Two are organized by LFSF:

10:30 am | Growing up with two languages : The effect of bilingualism on cognitive development

By Ashley CHUNG,
of the The Lifespan Cognition and Development Lab | York University 

The Lab is led by Dr. Ellen Bialystok, OC, PhD, FRSC, distinguished Research Professor of Psychology and Walter Gordon York Research Chair of Lifespan Cognitive Development at York University. It is a cognitive neuroscience laboratory in the Department of Psychology at York University. Its research examines the effect of bilingualism on cognitive and linguistic processing across the lifespan. They use behavioral and neuro-imaging methods, including electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology to investigate the neural underpinnings of cognition in individuals with diverse language backgrounds and determine the mechanism by which those effects take place. Their studies include children, younger and older adults, and patients.

Ashley Chung obtained her B.Sc. and M.A. degrees in Psychology at York University. For her M.A., she examined whether monolinguals and bilinguals differed electrophysiologically in resolving lexical competition. Her primary research area involves investigating the neural correlates of verbal and non-verbal control networks in bilinguals who code-switch frequently compared to those who switch less frequently. She is currently involved in several research projects that include examining the relationship between bilingualism and executive control in verbal and non-verbal tasks with ERPs.

3pm | Why Bilingualism Matters in California

By Covadonga LAMAR PRIETO, 
Co-Director with Prof. Judith F. Kroll (Dept. of Psychology) of the Bilingualism Matters chapter at UC Riverside.

Learning and using more than one language has many benefits, but there are also misconceptions about what it means to be bilingual. Some believe that exposing infants to more than one language will confuse them and harm their development or that it is impossible to fully learn a new language as an adult. The new research on language learning and bilingualism shows that these misconceptions are false. Bilingualism changes the minds and brains of babies in ways that produce greater cognitive flexibility and openness to new learning. Adults are also far more open to new language learning than we previously understood. New findings on older adults suggest that lifelong bilingualism may protect them against the cognitive declines that individuals experience normally as they age and also against the symptoms of dementia. 

Bilingualism Matters began as a public information service at the University of Edinburgh in 2008, in response to a lack of information about bilingualism in the community. In October, 2017, Bilingualism Matters at UCR launched a new branch to bring together researchers at UCR and elsewhere with the linguistically and culturally diverse community in Southern California. 

Covadonga Lamar Prieto specializes in Sociolinguistics of the Spanish in the US. Her corpus-based research deals with Historical Spanish in California, with a focus on language change, dialectology and bilingualism. Besides being a Linguist, Covadonga is a Colonialist. She specializes in Colonial Mexico and the cultural production of the first Criollos: how these Criollos defined their new transatlantic identity, and the way they used to examine their society through literature.

 

And also: fun activities for kids

While you attend the conferences, your children will be entertained and busy participating in fun activities. Don't miss the

LFSF Photobooth, from 12pm to 1:15pm