Luxembourg partnership boosts language learning
A University centre promoting multilingualism and language learning has expanded its international network with the opening of a branch in Luxembourg.
Bilingualism Matters has been launched in partnership with the University of Luxembourg.
The new centre will carry out research and community outreach projects focusing on multilingual education.
It will bring together researchers and experts working in the field of multilingualism in the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences.
The Luxembourg branch was launched at a virtual opening event by Claude Meisch, the Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Catherine Léglu, Vice-rector for academic affairs, University of Luxembourg, Prof. Antonella Sorace the founding Director of Bilingualism Matters at the University of Edinburgh and Prof. Claudine Kirsch, the Director of the new branch in Luxembourg.
The launch included a roundtable exchange with international researchers and professionals from the education and health sector sharing their experiences in the field of multilingualism.
Our research at the University of Luxembourg covers a vast variety of fields from the study of language development, language and literacy practices to the acquisition of one or several languages, literacy development and language disorders, and language policies and identity construction. We have different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, come from different countries, and earned degrees in different disciplines such as sociolinguistics, linguistics, philology, education and psychology.
Professor Kirsch added that Luxembourg with its three official languages and its multilingual education system is the perfect arena for conducting research in multilingualism.
The new resource will generate high-quality research that will not only be beneficial for learning and teaching.
It will also provide insights on language learning to national policy-makers and industry professionals, organisers say.
The new centre will provide scientific knowledge and advice on multilingualism to the public and act as a bridge builder between science and society.
Online resources will be made available to teachers, parents and professionals. Workshops, conferences, and lectures are in development.
I’m delighted to launch a new branch of Bilingualism Matters in Luxembourg. I look forward to working together on both research and public engagement in the ideal multilingual environment offered by Luxembourg.
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