Outreach events

We have held many events and met many teachers and parents across London. It has been really interesting to share experiences of raising bilingual and multilingual children.

2023

  • June | Bilingualism and Multilingualism: Language, Cognition & Education. Invited talk for Mato Grosso Education Department teachers and regional directors, Education Office for the UK Government in Brazil; UCL IOE

2022

  • November | Bilingual children: Language, Literacy & Brain. Webinar on Growing up Bilingual: Myths, Facts and Things in-between (Dr Lam, Prof. Filippi, Ms. Black & Dr Husain), London
  • July | Bilingualism and Multilingualism public engagement practice: UCL BiLingo. Seminar Series on Growing up Bilingual, Roehampton University
  • February | Raising Multilingual Children: Q&A session at Sanger institute.

2020 / 2021

Use of technology in homes, schools, and communities in times of rapid change 

During the Covid 19 pandemic, schools around the globe sought to maintain continuity, community and belonging. These actions sparked our own interest in exploring how teachers, parents, and students experienced teaching, learning, and communication online, what they felt were the gains and what were the losses.

With a group of colleagues based at the Centre for Language, Culture and Learning at Goldsmiths, and at IOE, UCL BiLingo we organised two virtual panel discussions on using technology. Participants shared a wealth of ideas, experiences, and emotions.

  • December 2020 | Community/heritage language learning during the Covid-19 pandemic: Lessons for pedagogy and community building: we identified possibilities and challenges community schools were facing at the time. Panellists highlighted innovative and inclusive pedagogies and inventive ways to keep school communities together that drew on the affordances of digital tools.
  • May 2021 | ‘Sustaining multilingualism and social and emotional well-being among multilingual families during the pandemic’: panellists focused on multilingual families and the diverse ways they mobilised and managed their languages when they were forced to keep apart.

Languages in Lockdown

  • April, 2021 | In this webinar researchers from the Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (University of Reading, UK), IOE (UK), and MultiLing (University of Oslo, Norway) shared some of the insights from a survey on language use in multilingual families during the first lockdown. They were also joined by parents who took part in the research. | Watch the webinar (Access Passcode: e5+XFA%Y).

2019

  • December | Multilingual Families - A workshop for parents at the Greek Independent School of Finchley: The event was well-attended and many interesting questions about raising multilingual children were raised.
  • June | #BrainPower at the UCL Neuroscience Festival.
  • June | Multilingualism in Childhood: Language, Cognition & Brain: UCL Festival of Culture.
  • May | Raising Multilingual Children: A talk for the London School of Economics Parents and Carers Network.
  • May | Raising Multilingual Children: Focus on Icelandic: A talk in collaboration with the Icelandic Society of London.
  • March | Childhood multilingualism and ways to support minority languages, focusing on Greek: A talk for parents at the St Panteleimon Hellenic College in Harrow.
  • March | Multilingual children: A talk for parents of children attending Brazilian Portuguese classes at Clube dos Brasileirinhos.
  • February | Language acquisition in childhood: A seminar for parents, L'ecole des Copains (French Community School).
  • February | Raising multilingual children: A seminar for parents, Francis Crick Institute.

2018

  • December | Multilingual Children: A seminar for parents, Greig Academy.
  • November | Childhood multilingualism: A seminar for parents, Czech School Without Borders.
  • November | Multilingual children: A seminar for multilingual families in Bath as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Sciences.
  • October | Multilingual Upbringing: A seminar for parents, Francis Crick Institute.
  • June | Bilingualism research and its implications for school contexts: UCL BiLingo workshop for secondary school teachers at the Greig City Academy.
  • May | Acquiring more than one language in childhood: A talk to the Forest Hill Parents Group.
  • May | UCL BiLingo at Croydon. Bilingual / Multilingual Children: A workshop for EYFS, KS1, KS2 and KS3 teachers.
  • May | Deafness, Spoken Language Acquisition and Learning English as an Additional Language (EAL): A one day CPD workshop on deafness, spoken language acquisition and learning English as an additional language (EAL), Moray House, University of Edinburgh.
  • May | Heritage Language Learning: A workshop for the teachers of the Czech School Without Borders.
  • April: UCL BiLingo takes part in UCL Grand Challenges event.
  • March: Childhood bilingualism/multilingualism: How can we support heritage languages? A talk for parents and teachers of the Danish Saturday school in London at the Danish church.
  • January: Bilingual and Second Language Acquisition: A workshop for teachers: Dr Andrea Revesz discussed bilingual and second language acquisition in childhood with teachers.

2017

  • November | Advice for Bilingual Families: A talk to the Waltham Forest Bilingual Group.
  • October | Childhood Bilingualism/multilingualism and Heritage Language Maintenance. A talk for the Hungarian community at the Hungarian Cultural Centre.
  • July | Acquiring more than one language in childhood: A workshop for Japanese-speaking parents at West Action primary school. Supported and organised by the Japanese PTA in collaboration with the school.
  • June | Exploring Multilingualism in London: A talk at the UCL Festival of Culture.
  • June | Childhood bilingualism/multilingualism: A workshop for parents of the West Action primary school.
  • June | Raising bilingual and multilingual children: A workshop for the parents of the Czech School Without Borders.
  • May | Bilingualism/Multilingualism: A talk for teachers at the Czech School Without Boarders.
  • March | A talk on bilingual and multilingual children and heritage language maintenance, Croydon Library.

2016

  • November | Understanding and Supporting Bilingual Children An information session for parents organised by the ICH Mums & Dads Group.
  • October | Bilingualism/Multilingualism & English as an Additional Language: A training session for teachers and teaching assistants.