The Mind Sharpener: Language Acquisition – Do Toddlers Do It Better ?, 19th of June, 19.00

Mind Sharpener talk

“The Mind Sharpener” – a series of lively, thought-provoking talks and debates rooted in academic research but of general interest and open to everyone. Topics range from political theory to poetry, from violence in discourse to the origins of language. The idea is to bring the fruits of research to a wide and diversified audience, and let the audience become an active participant by raising questions, proposing solutions, engaging in the tasks and activities provided by the speaker. Everything will take place in an informal and cosy atmosphere, enjoying a cup of tea or a glass of wine. All the discussions will be held in English.

THE MIND SHARPENER:
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION – DO TODDLERS DO IT BETTER ?

19th of June, 19.00
by Laura Vilkaitė-Lozdienė

Are toddlers smarter than us? Why many struggle learning a second language but could acquire their first language with so little effort?

All of us can speak a language. Most of us can even speak two or three languages. However, while we have managed to learn our first language with seemingly no effort, learning a second language was not so easy, was it? And despite years and years of practice we probably still feel we would like to speak it better. Why is that? Are we just born with the first language pre-programmed? Or are babies some sort of geniuses that later on lose their fantastic language learning abilities? If so, can we do anything to get some inspiration from babies on how to learn languages more efficiently later on in life? Or are we doomed to learn languages worse and worse as we are getting older?
I will draw on current research findings to try and address some of the myths about language learning. I will also ask you to reflect on your own language learning experience so that together we could start thinking about the complexities of language and about what an intricate skill to be able to speak a language is.

Laura Vilkaitė-Lozdienė is an assistant professor at Vilnius University. Her research interests include second language acquisition and psycholinguistics. She is particularly interested in how people acquire and use new words. She is actively publishing and participating in various research conferences internationally.

http://web.vu.lt/flf/l.vilkaite-lozdiene/en/about-me/

 

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Do you want to propose a talk and/or share your research with us? Write to davide.castiglione@gmail.com with your proposed topic.


THE MIND SHARPENER:
LANGUAGE ACQUISITION – DO TODDLERS DO IT BETTER ?

Laura Vilkaitė-Lozdienė

Birželio 19 dieną, 19.00

[LT]

“The Mind Sharpener” – tai gyvų, provokuojančių bei kviečiančių pamąstymams, pokalbių ir diskusijų serija, paremta akademiniais tyrimais, tačiau aktuali ir atvira visiems. Nagrinėjamos temos nuo politikos teorijos iki poezijos, nuo smurto diskurse iki kalbos kilmės. Šia renginių serija norima pasidalinti akademinių tyrimų vaisiais su plačia ir daugialype auditorija, bei įtraukti susirinkusiuosius į diskusijas: keliant klausimus ieškant sprendimų, įsitraukiant į užduotis ir veiklas parengtas kalbančiųjų. Viskas vyks jaukioje neformalioje aplinkoje su puodeliu kavos ar vyno taure.

 

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