International Mother Language Day

Multilingualism Talk

Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Good Relations will mark International Mother Language Day with an interactive online talk on Multilingualism on 23 February 2022. The talk will be delivered by Dr Francesca La Morgia and will explore:

• personal and societal value of multilingualism
• fostering multilingualism through the use of mother tongues and home languages and encouraging the learning of languages
• language as part of identity and culture
• multilingualism as an indicator for cultural diversity
• promoting linguistic diversity

Research indicates that speaking more than one language benefits children in many ways, and that multilingual societies thrive, because diversity of languages, cultures and views of the world enrich our communities and make them more resilient. However, at times parents struggle, especially if they are the only speaker of the language, about the best way to raise bilingual children. Most of them know that it is a challenge

In this interactive talk, our keynote speaker Dr Francesca La Morgia and guest speakers will discuss the value of multilingualism, focusing on the strategies used to raise and educate bilingual children and share experiences to inspire everyone to make the most of multilingualism. The discussion will also focus on how everyone in our society can make a positive contribution to the fostering of multilingualism by respecting and valuing linguistic diversity in their day to day interactions.

About Dr Francesca La Morgia

Dr La Morgia is the founder and director of Mother Tongues, a social enterprise that aims to create a society where families, communities and professionals embrace multilingualism to empower children to reach their potential in more than one language. Francesca is a linguist with more than 10 years experience in delivering training in the area of bilingual language development and education. She has lectured at the University of Reading, Trinity College Dublin, Ulster University and Maynooth University, and has delivered training to mainstream teachers, EAL teachers and teacher trainers in Ireland, Belgium, the UK, Germany and Switzerland.

To register for this talk, email goodrelations@fermanaghomagh.com.