On Wednesday 6th October, 2021, the challenges and opportunities surrounding language learning and bilingual development were discussed by a panel of leading experts. These included Paul Dunne, Headmaster of St. John Bosco College in Battersea; Patrick Rebuschat, Professor of linguistics and cognitive science at Lancaster University and Director of the Heritage Language 2 Consortium; Federica Piedimonte, Teacher of Italian language and culture teacher; and Agnieszka Derleta, Head of Polish/English as an Additional Language (EAL) Department at St Thomas More in Bedford.

Both the presentations and audience’s contributions were very insightful and the webinar offered some very exciting leads to further discussions.

The event was a joint initiative of St. John Bosco College, the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, the Camões Instiute, and the Italian General Consulate in London. The program can be found below.

About this event

Program of Webinar 'Raising a Bilingual Child Today: Opportunities and Challenges'

17.30 – 17.35 (5 min)

Welcoming Remarks

Paul Dunne, Headmaster, John Bosco College in Battersea

Paul has been involved in education for over 20 years as a teacher and senior leader and is currently Headteacher of St John Bosco College in Battersea. His interest in the area of language education started when working in Italy as a Teacher of English in the 1990s.

17.35 – 17.40 (5 Minutes)

Introductory Remarks, Prof. Patrick Rebuschat , Lancaster University

Prof. Patrick Rebuschat is professor of linguistics and cognitive science at Lancaster University. His research focuses on bilingual cognition with particular interest in how we acquire and process a second language. His work addresses questions such as the following: What role do individual differences play in language acquisition? How does explicit knowledge affect implicit learning? How are implicit and explicit knowledge represented in the mind and, ultimately, the brain?

17.40 – 17.50 (10 min)

Teaching Italian Language and Culture in Primary Schools, Federica Piedimonte, Italian Consulate General in London

Federica is an Italian language and culture teacher in the UK. She holds an MA (Hons) in Modern Foreign Languages from the University of Pisa. She is passionate about modern foreign language teaching and possesses a rich experience in Italian language teaching here in the UK. In her talk Federica will share her rich and diverse experience in teaching Italian language and culture in different school settings in the UK.

17.50 – 18.00 (10 min)

Promoting Home Language Learning outside Home Environments, Agnieszka Derleta, St Thomas Secondary School in Bedford

Agnieszka is Head of Polish/English as an Additional Language (EAL) Department at St Thomas More in Bedford. As the EAL practitioner she helps students overcome language barriers to learning English, whilst is committed to supporting home language learning amongst these students, especially outside their home environments. In this talk, Agnieszka will draw from her hand - on experience as EAL teacher of many years especially discussing the value of fostering home language learning amongst EAL learners both at St Thomas More Secondary School and the Polish Saturday School in Bedford, where Agnieszka works as headmistress and is a co-founder of the charity organisation called The Polish Language and Culture Association. Agnieszka holds a master’s degree in education and linguistics, certificate of early childhood and adult education. She is certified AQA GCSE and A-level examiner in Polish, QTS certificate in the UK education system, and a certified mentor NCRSE, an organisation dedicated to supplementary education.

18.00 – 18.10 (10 min)

Commentary to Panelists' Contribution

Professor Patrick Rebuschat, Lancaster University

18.10 – 18.40 (30 minutes)

Q & A Session

18.40 – 18.50 (10 min)

Final comments from all panelists

18.50 – 19.00 (10 minutes)

Closing Remarks by Professor Patrick Rebuschat, Lancaster University

Final Remarks by Paul Dunne, John Bosco College in Battersea