The multilingual brain: what happens when we learn another language and how that can benefit us physiologically and cognitively — Stefani Kostadinova

Multilingualism, whether it involves speaking two or more languages, is becoming more widespread. Currently, the topic is an issue of intensive research among neuroscientists and cognition scientists. My paper offers a review of what is currently known about the topic, as will my presentation. So far, researchers have not found any negative effects of multilingualism; on the contrary, multiple experiments point to the benefits that it brings. First, I will discuss the delaying effect of multilingualism on Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive decline. Second, I will explain the structural changes in the brain as a result of speaking a foreign language. Third, I will explore the cognitive benefits that multilingualism brings and the reasons behind them. Finally, the questions that still need to be answered in future research are discussed. The potential benefits of multilingualism to society at large are also described.

(REC) Ni De Aqui, Ni De Alla: How I Became Bilingual In 2 Countries — Miguel Ariza

My presentation will be about my journey becoming bilingual in 2 countries, learning about my family’s culture and taking in the local culture of New York City. I’ve encountered some difficulties along the way, which I’ll speak about, and I’ll also explain the benefits and consequences of being bilingual and being bicultural, as well as offering some tips on how you can raise a bilingual child.

(LIVE) A Whole New World- A Social Initiative in Transforming English Learning Journeys for Underprivileged Children — Ivan Yong Wei Kit

A Gift of GENUS is a social initiative that has impacted and encouraged more than 300 underprivileged children in 9 countries to learn English as a second language.

We are committed to transform the learning experience of underprivileged children by providing an interactive online English for learning platform and enabling independent learning beyond classroom. Through independent learning journeys, they feel empowered to be responsible for their learning and are motivated to explore their interests. Valuable learning experiences lead to a whole new world of success in school and life.

(LIVE) Understanding Vulnerable languages of India — Devina Krishna

The present work deals with the issue of vulnerability found among the languages of the Indian subcontinent. India is a diverse nation with multiplicity of languages and cultures. Many of these languages are in the state of endangerment , vulnerability or extinction. It is worrisome that
at least 5 Indian languages are extinct, and 10 have less than 100 speakers all over the country. 197 languages in India are either vulnerable, endangered or extinct. Therefore, this becomes a major issue to address and act upon in the present times. It is time that steps should be taken to preserve and safeguard the languages of the nation that are subject to risk and vulnerability. The present work raises the readers’ awareness about the vulnerable languages of the Indian nation and also draws attention to the methods and preservation schemes through which languages could be documented and saved for future generations.

(LIVE) Australian Aboriginal Languages in the 21st Century — Brian Loo Soon Hua

The ancient languages of Australia form the very core of Aboriginal culture. Endowed with a complex and extremely detailed repertoire of tribal laws, songs, stories and sayings, these languages encode the entire wealth of cultural knowledge as well as the history of some of the oldest peoples on Earth. In this talk, we will examine the various efforts to preserve, revitalise and more importantly, to make these languages relevant into the 21st Century and beyond. Some of the languages discussed will be Warlpiri, Arrernte and Walmajarri.

(REC) Singlish: Language At Its Most Efficient — Xing-Yi Loy

Singlish, believed by Singaporeans to be the most efficient language, has carried great social significance for us as the language that has united our nation. In this talk, we hope to introduce Singlish to the world and demonstrate the efficiency and beauty of the language to our audience.

(LIVE) Language Diaries: How to Stay Organised and Help Researchers — Yan Aleshkevich-Suslov

This is an extended version of the talk that I gave at the Polyglot Gathering 2022. I will demonstrate several designs for digital language diaries to keep track of your language activity to help you stay organised, focused, to see how much progress you have made, and I will also talk about how such diaries can assist language researchers. In addition, we will look at other potential ways of using technology to help you stay on track, proposed in part by the viewers from the Polyglot Gathering.

(REC) Mesoamerica Hoy: La diversidad cultural y lingüística en México y Centroamérica — Maximo Gonzalez

El objetivo de esta presentación es explorar el tema de la diversidad de los pueblos e idiomas que han existido y siguen existiendo en México y en la región centroamericana, ya que no hay mucha claridad sobre ello. Aunque el enfoque es en el tema lingüístico, se verá desde un punto tanto histórico como moderno con otras observaciones geográficas, sociales, políticas, económicas y demográficas para mejor entender el contexto de la situación.

En la actualidad hay cerca de 30 millones de personas que se identifican como nativos, de los cuales alrededor de la mitad habla un idioma nativo. En total hay 300 idiomas que se siguen hablando y cabe destacar que estos pertenecen a diversas familias lingüísticas. Esto representa un patrimonio cultural inigualable para todos que vale la pena al menos apreciar.

Las diapositivas están escritas en inglés y la presentación será en español.

(REC) ¿Cómo traducir obras literarias a lenguas indígenas? — Alberto Gil Alegre

En esta presentación trataré de aportar algunas claves sobre cómo enfrentarse a la traducción de obras literarias a lenguas indígenas, atendiendo a los problemas que esta tarea habitualmente presenta (como la equivalencia de conceptos, el sociolecto y la lengua de educación del traductor o el uso de préstamos lingüísticos). Para ello recurriremos a una lengua indígena que nos servirá como ejemplo: el quechua, y exploraremos la traducción de El Principito a dicho idioma para observar casos concretos de problemas de traducción.

El objetivo principal de esta exposición es mostrar que incluso las lenguas sin tradición escrita pueden expresar conceptos intelectuales complejos. El buen criterio del traductor a la hora de recurrir a préstamos, neologismos o paráfrasis puede contribuir a trasladar términos abstractos sin traducción unívoca a la lengua meta y esto, a su vez, contribuirá a generar una tradición de profundo valor intelectual para los hablantes de la lengua indígena en cuestión.

(REC) Learning Ukrainian, make a difference — Timothy Douglas

As the Hyperpolyglot Activist Dr. Carlos Yebra Lopez says “Learn Languages, make a difference!” and he’s right! Due to the recent tragic events in Ukraine, there is a pressing need for people with knowledge of Ukrainian to help those displaced from Ukraine, including the translation of medical and other documents, support in matters connected with everyday life, and simply by showing appreciation for their language and culture. As polyglots, we love learning languages and can learn more quickly than the average person; maybe we should use our skill to learn the languages of those who need support?
This talk is a personal story about how the invasion of Ukraine led me to start learning the language, become a volunteer translator for an organization which provides linguistic help to refugees, made friends with displaced Ukrainians and organized a conference on how to learn Ukrainian to help people – and how the whole process helped me to learn Ukrainian!

(LIVE) Heritage language, the deconstruction of language hierarchies — Anna Becker

In this talk, I will present findings of multiple studies I have conducted during my doctoral work focusing on the promotion of heritage language, the deconstruction of language hierarchies, the amelioration of working conditions of minority language teachers, and the effort to raise awareness of a ‘selective celebration of linguistic diversity.’ I advocate true multilingualism, its representation through policies, practices, and open mindsets by everyone, and especially us polyglots.

(REC) Translation³ (TranslationCubed): A bilingual language learning method for faster comprehension and intuitive language acquisition — David Allen Martin II

In my 15+ years of experience learning languages and teaching them to students from all over the world, I’ve seen time and again how traditional language learning materials force language learners to struggle to understand because little to none of the content is translated into the learners’ native language (except in the form of inconveniently located vocabulary lists), thus requiring them to spend lots of time looking up the meanings of words and leaving less time to enjoy and employ their target language.

In my talk, I would like to present my 3-level bilingual language learning method that I call Translation³ (TranslationCubed), which experience has demonstrated helps students to learn languages faster, more efficiently and with more fun because they can start enjoying authentic content from Day 1 thanks to multi-level translations into their language.

The name Translation³ refers to the fact that there are 3 levels of translation to help you to learn faster. *Level 1: An idiomatic translation of the foreign language sentence so you understand the intended meaning immediately. *Level 2: A literal translation of every foreign word so that you intuitively understand the syntax. *Level 3: A “reverse” translation, which I call A.R.T. (Active Reverse Translation), from your mother tongue into your target language that helps you to start thinking in the foreign language sooner and to actively use and remember the vocabulary that you’ve learned in the context of sentences.

Learners who employ Translation³ to learn foreign languages save time, learn more efficiently and internalize the grammar of the foreign language more rapidly and intuitively thanks to these readily available translations into their native language.

(LIVE) What's your experience with language? — Olga & Tina Czada

The digital project www.wir-sind-vielsprachig.de (we are multilingual) talks about multilingualism, prejudices and your language stories.
Presentation by Olga Koeva and Tina Czada

The project www.wir-sind-vielsprachig.de (We are multilingual) was developed by the institution Fachstelle Interkulturelle Öffung in Jena, Germany. One of the creators of this website is Tina Czada. Olga Koeva who was an intern at the above-mentioned institution also contributed to the development of the project by doing translations and adding new content.

The website has two main purposes. Firstly, it aims at creating awareness of multilingualism and linguistic diversity. Furthermore, another purpose of the project is to talk about people’s experiences with languages and prejudices people sometimes have regarding languages.

In this presentation, Olga Koeva and Tina Czada would like to introduce this important project to the audience of the Polyglot Conference and would like to encourage more people to contribute to its development.

(LIVE) HEl aprendizaje holístico de idiomas: Curiosidad, Innovación y Bienestar — Lina Vasquez

Tenemos una brecha en nuestro sistema educativo. Hay un abismo que se está formando a base de una plataforma construida por la revolución industrial. Nos hemos enamorado tanto del progreso de la tecnología que hemos pasado por alto a una generación de alumnos a los que se les ha despojado de su identidad.

Como resultado, los primeros años de la vida adulta los pasamos desaprendiendo las estandarizaciones mecánicas que han ligado nuestro valor a las estrellas doradas y a los resultados de nuestros boletines de notas de la escuela.

Además, a menudo se diagnostican las dificultades de un alumno como resultado de una falta de motivación, de una memoria defectuosa o de no haber encontrado todavía los recursos adecuados para el aprendizaje. ¡Nada más lejos de la realidad!

¿Qué pasaría si el aprendizaje pudiera realizarse de una manera que desintegre cualquier barrera existente, empoderando al alumno en la forma en que mejor aprende mientras desarrolla la mente, el cuerpo, la energía, las emociones y la conciencia?

Este es el proceso del Aprendizaje Holístico de Idiomas. Utilizamos un método equilibrado. Esto te permite maximizar tu potencial como estudiante y como ser humano, sin exportar tu identidad a una institución.

Durante esta plática, exploramos tres aspectos fundamentales del Aprendizaje Holístico de Lenguas y abordaremos los problemas actuales del aprendizaje de idiomas. Además, se demostrará cómo este método es fundamental para cerrar la brecha en nuestros sistemas educativos. Como resultado, seremos más capaces de crear un futuro conectado y próspero si comprendemos nuestra naturaleza multidimensional.

(LIVE) The Importance of Language Access in Emergency Preparedness — Wendy Robinson

When people think about language services, they generally think of interpreters sitting in a booth at a multinational conference or translators painstakingly translating works of literature. However, what about language services used during a natural disaster or as a city recovers from a devastating hurricane? Clearly communicating emergency warnings and information is essential for any community, yet what happens when a group within the community does not speak the official language and does not have access to the resources they need to prepare?

The U.S., my home country, has a diverse and multilingual population. Among many of our communities, there is a gap in language access during emergencies for non-English speaking residents. Take the case of Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2005: during the disaster, information was disseminated only in English, which meant that immigrants who did not speak English became vulnerable and, therefore, easily excluded from government response and recovery efforts. Confusion and miscommunication – a possibility even among native English speakers when panic ensues – can then become a matter of life and death.

My goal for this presentation is to highlight the importance of this issue and to touch on some of the work I am doing to educate colleagues and my community about language access in emergency preparedness. The U.S. has a strength in multilingualism and should use this as a way to better develop critical emergency resources at the national, regional, state, and local levels.

(LIVE) My journey as a polyglot teenager — Zahra Mirsadeghi

I started learning languages when I was 5 years old and now, at the age of 17, I can speak in 7 languages plus 2 languages conversationally. I’d like to share my tips and tricks for staying motivated and balancing languages and school chores, as well as some tips for self-study.

(LIVE) Te Reo Māori: Revitalizing our language — Amelia Butler

Due to massive revitalization efforts, Te Reo Māori, the indigenous language of Aotearoa New Zealand, is no longer on the brink of extinction. However, there was a point in time where it was. Join Amelia Butler, founder of Learn Māori Abroad, as she shares the history of the language as well as her personal story about her journey with Te Reo Māori as it relates to the revitalization of the language.

(LIVE) Multilingual OSINT und die Suchmaschinen dieser Welt — Tatjana Kiefer

We will have a look at how people searching the WWW for information are experiencing the web when using Google compared to Naver (네이버 // (South) Korea) compared to Yandex (Яндекс // Russia) with excursions into gathering information in a greener fashion while planting trees via Ecosia and how to search the internet of things (IoT) using Shodan. Welcome to the intersection of natural languages and hacking!

Zusätzlich werden wir uns anschauen, warum deutschsprachige Facebook User etwas schwierig(er) auffindbar sind und über die kulturellen Gründe sprechen weshalb Japaner:innen eher Facebook denn LinkedIn für die Jobsuche nutzen.
(Spoiler: ユーザーの行動の違いは非常に顕著です。)

This presentation will feature bilingual slides in English and German as well as a multilingual presentation in English, German, and additional languages matching the search engines and social media sites under investigation. Let’s have a look at what is normal to us polyglots (in many cases) but a highly desired skillset in the world of global social media intelligence (SOCMINT) and open-source intelligence (OSINT).
This talk will be given by a technologist who has been doing multilingual SOCMINT and OSINT for friends who wanted to attend Japanese fashion schools, even before the term “OSINT” was widely used, back when the internet was still young.

(LIVE) How To Foster Multilingualism in Early Childhood Using the Language-Rich Approach — Pancha French

Research has shown that children of lower-income, less-educated parents typically start school with poorer language skills than their more privileged counterparts. These socioeconomic status differences can already emerge by 18 months of age.

Research has also shown that an infant exposed to a Language-Rich environment is one of the most important factors for brain development and for reducing this Achievement Gap (the disparity in academic performance between different groups of socio-economic students).

Other studies have found that exposure to more than one language from birth through childhood can actually make a person smarter. The reason for this is that the brain is forced to work harder as it develops, strengthening a child’s prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain where executive function resides. Accordingly, bilingual children are better able to focus, plan, prioritize and make decisions. As children get older they tend to score higher on cognitive tests and possess more effective communication skills. Bilingualism has also been found to help prevent dementia in old age.

My presentation will show how to combine the benefits of a Language-Rich approach together with Bilingualism from birth to not only enhance a child’s language ability but also to enrich their cognitive development.

I draw from my experience growing up multilingual, homeschooling multilingual children, and my extensive research in education to provide a framework to help new families grow our next generation of #bilingualbabies to reduce the Achievement Gap and to set each child on their own unique path with their enhanced mental and intellectual capabilities.

The Arabic Language — Maria Pakkala

Arabic has a reputation for being one of the world’s hardest languages mainly because of its diglossic nature i.e., the fact that Arabic speaking people use a standard variant in formal situations and their mother tongue, which is usually not a written variant, in their daily life. I argue that Arabic, just like any other language, can be acquired fairly easily provided one uses the proper strategies and makes use of the wide varieties of possibilities available today. In my presentation, I will answer questions such as which variant should one learn and why? How intelligible are Arabic variants? When should one learn Modern Standard Arabic? How easy is it to learn Arabic after other semitic languages? Where should one go to study Arabic? Etc.

(REC) O tronco Macro-Jê — Flávia Scaldelai da Silva Rezende

O tronco Macro-Jê e o tronco Tupi são os únicos troncos de línguas indígenas do território brasileiro. As demais línguas indígenas catalogadas são pertencentes apenas a famílias ou, em alguns casos, nem mesmo a famílias: são línguas únicas.

Os povos Jê eram considerados pelos portugueses como povos de catequese e conquista difíceis, e foram brutalmente combatidos e assassinados. Alguns povos desapareceram de maneira tão completa que línguas e culturas se perderam, carecendo hoje de registros.

Durante esta apresentação eu falarei um pouco a respeito dos indígenas que ainda resistem, e também um pouco de suas línguas.

(LIVE) Endangered Alphabets: What Can We Do Rather Than Watch Them Vanish? — Tim Brookes

While the field of endangered languages is, quite rightly, working hard and growing, virtually no attention is being paid to marginalized or suppressed indigenous and minority writing systems. This talk will survey activity in this area, recount what the Endangered Alphabets Project has been working on, and identify important Script Warriors around the world. With slides and, actually, a certain amount of humor.

(LIVE) The Challenges & Rewards of managing pan-european Social Media projects — Monika Strell

Working and managing Social Media teams and clients in a pan-european setting comes with plenty of everyday challenges, and rewards. From understanding the cultural
dynamics within teams, and in customer relationships, to getting a grasp of how humour works in different languages and contexts – like talking about chocolate, or financial products – there is never a boring moment. I will share some stories from my more than 15 years of experience in this line of work, and how my own background and experience as an Austrian who moved around Europe to work in academia, the not-for-profit sector and Social Media has influenced my management and communication style.

(LIVE) Les bénéfices, les défis et les astuces pour démarrer une chaîne YouTube sur les langues. — Bong Sou

Lors de cette présentation, je vais tenter d’expliquer en quoi la conception de vidéos peut aider à l’apprentissage des langues, notamment en forçant l’écoute de soi et la répétition. Je vais également donner des conseils aux personnes qui souhaitent se lancer mais qui ne savent pas exactement comment s’y prendre. Les outils disponibles sur le marché, l’algorithme mais aussi la recherche d’un concept qui permet de se démarquer des autres YouTubeurs qui partagent la même niche. Je vais également survoler les autres opportunités qui s’ouvrent aux YouTubeurs.

J’illustrerais mes propos en parlant de mon expérience personnelle et en la comparant à d’autres influenceurs du même domaine. Si possible, je souhaite représenter la francophonie d’Amérique du Nord, en utilisant le français comme langue de présentation. Sinon, je serai aussi heureux de le faire en anglais.

(LIVE) How my son went from reluctant reader to avid independent reader in 3 languages — Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori

For a multilingual child, speaking all their languages enables them to connect with their family. But being able to read and write plays an important role in the way they build their identity. When they visit their relatives in different countries, understanding everything written around them as well as what is say make them feel part of the community. And by becoming independent readers, our children can develop their range of vocabulary, and satisfy their curiosity by accessing on their own all kinds of information and resources IN ALL THEIR LANGUAGES.
In this presentation, I will share my son’s journey going from reluctant reader in English (school language) to avid and independent reader in English, French, and Korean. You will learn about the learning curves and the key elements that helped us on the journey, as well as the main resources I have used and developed.

(LIVE) Cultural Educators & Advisors: How to Get Found and Hired — Meghan Gardner

In this talk, Meghan Gardner from Guardian Adventures, will detail how Cultural Educators and Advisors can be hired by media, entertainment, and recreation companies when these companies are portraying characters or stories from the educator’s own culture or lived experience.

(LIVE) Language learning as a supportive act — Patrick Lencastre

My story with the Ukrainian language plus tips and tricks to learn it

(LIVE) Chat with Luca — Luca Lampariello

Richard chats with Luca and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Elisa — Elisa Polese

Richard chats with Elisa and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Steve — Steve Kaufmann

Richard chats with Steve and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Judith — Judith Meyer

Richard chats with Judith and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Stu Jay — Stu Jay Raj

Richard chats with Stu Jay and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Lindsay — Lindsay Williams

Richard chats with Lindsay and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Stephen — Stephen Krashen

Richard chats with Stephen and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Anja — Anja Spilker

Richard chats with Anja and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Desta — Desta Haile

Richard chats with Desta and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Chat with Lindie — Lindie Botes

Richard chats with Lindie and they take your questions LIVE!

(REC) Revitalising The Cornish Language — Lianne Wilson

Richard chats with Lianne about the work she does in the Cornish language community to revitalise and energise the learning community. A talk that can be applied ot other language communities to show you how to bolster language reference materials for speakers and learners alike.

(LIVE) Advocating for the Mauritian Creole Language Amongst the Youth — Krishna Pentayah

The presentation will focus on how the youth advocates for their Mother Tongue through the Sov Lanatir environmental organisation. The presentation will also highlight the importance of language in environmental conservation.

The second part will focus on the first scientific book written in the Mauritian Creole language and the corresponding barriers opposing the proper advancement of the language.

(LIVE) Chat with Tim — Tim Keeley

Richard chats with Tim and they take your questions LIVE!

(LIVE) Didza Xidza, una lengua Zapoteca hablada en la Sierra Norte de Oaxaca. — Rayo Cruz

Actualmente, el zapoteco es una de las lenguas indígenas con mayor número de hablantes en México, y es la número 1 en Oaxaca. Existen aproximadamente un millón de hablantes de esta lengua originaria, principalmente en el estado de Oaxaca, pero también una gran población de migrantes en otras ciudades del país y los Estados Unidos.
Es por ello que el colectivo Bëni Xidza, ha decidido ofrecer un curso básico que permita a los interesados conocer este idioma y aprender las palabras y expresiones más básicas del Zapoteco, sus carecterísticas y su situación actual, así como sus desafíos en el mundo contemporáneo.
Este curso consta de 20 sesiones de una hora; dos clases semanales, durante 10 semanas; o sea, dos meses y medio. En total son 20 horas de formación donde los participantes interactúan con la lengua a través de diferentes actividades como juegos y cantos, además del uso de herramientas interactivas en la web.
Este curso se realiza dos veces al año; en el periodo de Primavera (enero – mayo) y en Otoño (agosto – diciembre). El horario y la fecha de las clases varía según el periodo, pero siempre se ajusta a la disponibilidad de los participantes.
También ofrecemos clases particulares y pesonalizadas para las personas que así lo requieran; además de asesoría en temas lingüísticos y culturales sobre lenguas y pueblos indígenas.
El curso es abierto al público en general, está diseñando para personas

(LIVE) Chat with Dan — Dan Mirea

Richard chats with Dan and they take your questions LIVE!

Dan Mirea is an educational content creator on TikTok, where he strives through his videos to make psychology and linguistics fun and accessible. He is eager to tell us more about why Tiktok is an awesome platform to create language-related content, for linguists and polyglots alike!

(LIVE) Reclaiming My Mother Tongue: The Struggles of a First Generation Immigrant — Avishta Seeras

Avishta takes us on a personal journey through her experiences moving from one side of the world to another and the experiences she had that came with that change.