Linguistics and English Language

Edinburgh’s Bilingualism Matters centre highly successful in changing international debate on multilingualism

Multilingualism research centre reports successes in highlighting the benefits of speaking more than one language

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A newly released report examining the media and public engagement activity of the University of Edinburgh’s Bilingualism Matters Centre has revealed it has, since the run up to its full establishment in 2014, had considerable success in driving debate around the benefits of speaking more than one language.

Commissioned by The University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, Bilingualism Matters – Changing the debate internationally on the impacts of multilingualism identifies that the Centre has:

  • Generated over 90 media articles in countries including China, Australia, Pakistan, USA, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK, and spanning outlets such as Newsweek, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Irish Times, BBC Radio 4, BBC World Service, The Atlantic, The Daily Mail, and The Guardian.
  • Organised or participated in hundreds of engagement events, internationally, across Scotland, and around the wider UK, which have involved audiences in excess of 11,000 participants drawn from attendees at language shows, festival goers, educationalists, parents and pupils, and the general public.

The report also illustrates that the success of the Bilingualism Matters (BM) Centre in Edinburgh has been mirrored globally through its involvement in the establishment of 26 further Bilingualism Matters branches across the world, spanning the Americas, Europe and Asia.

An electronic copy of the full report, charting the public and media engagement successes of Bilingualism Matters can be downloaded from this location:

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Bilingualism Matters

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