SECOND INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON BILINGUALISM

BILINGUALISM, HERITAGE LANGUAGES AND MIGRATION

Bilingualism is now recognised as one of the most attractive fields of research in applied linguistics, as evidenced by the ever-increasing amount of publications, conferences, seminars and symposia aimed at capturing its essence. Bilingualism, when understood as the ability to make use of two languages in communication can certainly not be separated from speakers, as it is definitely a reflection, and oftentimes the result, of their diverse cultural and geographical backgrounds. It is therefore with a view to gaining an insight into the various concepts that intersect with bilingualism that we decided to organise a series of conferences which would enable researchers to present groundbreaking research and eventually cause positive changes in academia and society at large. 

While the first edition dealt with the challenges, limits and solutions involved when considering bilingualism and interculturality, this conference is going to address the relationship between bilingualism and migration. In fact, it goes without saying that the direct consequence of people’s moving from one place to another may be the need to learn languages distinct from their mother tongues. Nevertheless, the learning of a second language as a result of migration can pose serious challenges and may eventually lead to long-term effects on the mother tongue and the second language. 

This conference thus aims to provide a platform to researchers interested in discussing bilingualism against the backdrop of migration. We welcome proposals that deal with bilingualism (involving English and/or Spanish) while establishing a clear correlation between bilingual speakers’ linguistic choices and migration. Possible areas of interest include heritage languages, bilingualism in migrant families, migration and language loss, just to name a few. Proposals in English or Spanish will be accepted.