CCiL Annual Workshop 2017/2018

CCiL Annual  Workshop 2017/2018
June 1st, 2018

Program:

9:30- 9:45 Opening
9:45 - 10:45  Àngels Colomé (Universitat de Barcelona):  “Math anxiety: what it is, why it impairs performance and what we can do”
10:45 - 11:45 Sílvia Perpiñán (University of Western Ontario): "Outcomes of Early Bilingualism in the Catalan-Spanish Context. Protracted and Partial Acquisition in Child and Adult Bilinguals"
11:45 - 12:00 Break
12:00 - 13:20 Panel of former CCiL students: Dana Scarinci, Pablo Rico, Björn Jörges, Jessica Sánchez-Galán
13:20 - 14:00  Cristina Pulido (Promoció de la Recerca, Institut de Neurociències, UB).
14:00 Closure

Venue:  Aula Magna, Faculty of Philosophy UB: c/ Montalegre 6, Barcelona
 

Outcomes of Early Bilingualism in the Catalan-Spanish Context. Protracted and Partial Acquisition in Child and Adult Bilinguals.
Sílvia Perpiñán
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of Western Ontario

Abstract:
In this talk, I will present novel Catalan data from varying types of child and adult Catalan-Spanish bilinguals whose onset of acquisition to Catalan has been by age 3.  This cross-sectional study allows us to follow the development of several linguistic structures along childhood and observe the outcomes of prolonged language immersion in adulthood. By taking into account language dominance, measured through quantity and quality of input, onset of exposure, linguistic environment, language identity, etc, we want to contribute to the debate on the factors that characterize the outcomes of early bilingualism (Cornips & Hulk, 2008; Meisel, 2009, 2011; Perpiñán, 2017; Tsimpli, 2014; Unsworth, 2013, Unsworth, Argyri, Cornips, Hulk, Sorace & Tsimpli, 2014).
 In particular, I will focus on the acquisition of Catalan clitics in three types of adult and child bilinguals: Spanish-dominant, Catalan-dominant and Balanced Bilinguals, from two different linguistic environments (Metropolitan area of Barcelona vs. Central Catalonia). The results from non-personal clitics show delayed and partial acquisition, even in bilinguals who live in predominantly Catalan speaking areas. The results from other linguistic structures such as DOM or locative and existential constructions also display crosslinguistic influence on the one hand, and the creation of a bilingual variety through language convergence on the other.
These results are not very different from what has been found in other stable bilingual societies (Spanish-Basque by Ezeizabarrena, 2012; English-Welsh by Gathercole & Thomas, 2009) and raise questions regarding critical period effects in language development, and highlight the importance of quantity and quality of input received. Finally, I will argue that Catalan is undergoing language change motivated by internal and external factors, and that Spanish-dominant bilinguals and to some extent also Balanced Bilinguals are leading this change.

Math anxiety: what it is, why it impairs performance and what we can do.
Àngels Colomé
Dept. Cognition, Development and Educational Psychology. University of Bacelona

Abstract:
Math anxiety is a global phenomenon with high prevalence that leads to negative math-related attitudes and self-perceptions, and causes highly math-anxious individuals (HMA) to avoid math-related situations. As a consequence HMA individuals tend to show worse mathematical performance and are disadvantaged in different situations of their lives. This talk will begin by describing math anxiety and the consequences for those who suffer from it. It will then focus on the main current explanations for its negative effects on performance, namely a less precise representation of numerical magnitude in HMAs, less working memory resources available, and an attentional-control deficit.  Evidences for and against these hypotheses will be presented. Last, some promising attempts to reduce the detrimental effects of math anxiety will be introduced.