Take a journey of linguistic discovery

Our Children’s Spring Lecture is set to give Reading schoolchildren a taste of the University’s research with a look at how babies’ remarkable brains can learn multiple languages at once.

Professor Ludovica Serratrice (Professor of Bi-Multilingualism, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences) will explore the incredible abilities of babies and children learning multiple languages simultaneously.

Ludovica said: “Language development is an astonishing feat that is often taken for granted and it is even more amazing when it comes to learning more than one language.

“More than half of the world's population regularly uses two or more languages and millions of children grow up multilingual.

“Understanding the mechanisms of language development is the job of linguists and psychologists who use a vast array of methods to uncover the magic and mystery of language development.”

Sharing a passion for research

This year’s Children’s Spring Lecture is our third. The annual event was introduced to build on the success of our long running Winter lecture in reaching younger audiences in our wider community.

We welcome local children aged 7-12 onto campus to learn about fascinating research from our academics in an engaging, accessible way.

Multiple teams across the University collaborate to organise the Children's Lectures. The Events team works closely with the Research Communications team to identify potential speakers and topics that could captivate a young audience, before working closely with the selected academic to plan and promote the lecture.

From printed postcards to digital adverts and outreach to local schools, libraries and community hubs - our goal is to reach families who may not have attended University events before.

Commenting on why she wanted to give the lecture, Ludovica said: “The Children's Spring Lecture is a fantastic opportunity to reach a young audience and share our passion for research in a way that is accessible and inspiring. Some of these children might be our students soon!”

The Magic of Languages - A Journey of Linguistic Discovery takes place on Wednesday 27 March 2020 (16:30 – 17:30), at the Van Emden Lecture Theatre, Edith Morley Building, Whiteknights campus. This lecture is aimed at children aged 7-12. Spaces are free but registration is required.