Dr. John Archibald, Linguistics
It’s accepted wisdom that having a second or third language can improve chances for career success, particularly in today’s global marketplace. But parents often worry that learning a second language will harm their child’s first-language learning.
Enhancing kids’ cognitive and social abilities through second language acquisition
Quite the contrary, says University of Calgary professor and Head of Linguistics, Dr. John Archibald. “Second language learning is a wonderful gift to our children. It offers a range of benefits—cognitive, social, esthetic and economic.”
Dr. Archibald and the interdisciplinary team at the university’s Language Research Centre explore how people learn a second language. They look at the storage of language in the brain, and by using infrared eye-tracking devices, they study how people use language. They’ve found that learning a second language actually enhances learning in all areas.
Dr. Archibald is also working with a Strategic Research Clusters grant (Language in Real Time) to bring academics and stakeholders from across Canada together to drive linguistic research that will have real-world applications. Areas of future focus include palliative care—where doctors and patients often encounter language barriers—and the armed forces where troops need to build linguistic skills quickly to effectively do their jobs in nations around the world.
Mindful benefits
During a two-year study, Dr. Archibald’s team confirmed that learning a second language does not hurt children’s first-language skills. Second-language learning boosts mental prowess and enhances all areas of learning. Special needs students can learn a second language but may require some extra help in the classroom, similar to the support they receive for other subjects. And English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students appear predisposed to successfully learn a third language.
At the lab and with the community
Dr. Archibald’s commissioned research supports Alberta Education’s decision to enhance and mandate second-language learning at all provincial schools in 2007. The Government of Alberta recognizes the importance of second languages in preparing Albertans for participation in the global economy. In today’s information-based multilingual world, an individual who is proficient in two or more languages has greater career opportunities.
The Language Research Centre has also extended its outreach by establishing a professional development program for community-based language teachers, which has run for two years with funding from the Southern Alberta Heritage Language Association.
During the past five years, the linguistics research program at the U of C has received more than $2-million in funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Alberta Education, Edmonton Public Schools and the Infrastructure Renewal Envelope of the Government of Alberta.
Language Research Centre
The Language Research Centre is a joint initiative of the faculties of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education. It is dedicated to multidisciplinary advanced research into all aspects of how languages are learned, including psycholinguistics—the interrelationship of language and culture—as well as the role of technology in language learning. It provides a central point of contact on “second-language learning” between the university, the community and government. Funding for the centre and its various projects comes from a variety of sources, including the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and various federal and provincial government agencies.
http://www.fp.ucalgary.ca/ling