Exploring Common Ground in Research on Bilingualism and Second Language Acquisition

Co-sponsored by Latin American and Caribbean Studies Center
Date: Friday, October 9th, 2015, 2:00-3:00 PM
Location: SBS South 147 (MIC Conference Room)

Download Andrew Lynch's Lecture Slides

Lecture Abstract

Language researchers have traditionally drawn distinctions between phenomena of ‘bilingualism’ and the processes and features of ‘second language acquisition’ (SLA). Accounts have generally relied upon factors of context, age of acquisition, degree of proficiency or ability, ‘nativeness’ or ‘nativelikeness’, and social identity. In this talk, I offer some insight into the potential relationship between bilingualism and SLA, pointing to the common ground between these two areas of inquiry.

About the Speaker: Andrew Lynch

Headshot of Andrew Lynch

Andrew Lynch, Ph.D. specilizes in sociolinguistics and issues of societal bilingualism and heritage language acquisition. He is co-author of El español en contacto con otras lenguas (Georgetown University Press, 2009) and has published numerous articles and essays on the situation of Spanish in the United States. He has given more than fifty academic talks and invited lectures in the US, Latin America and Europe, and has spoken on CNN, NPR, BBC London, Radio Nederland, and Oppenheimer Presenta. His opinions have been cited in The Huffington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Miami Herald, and by the Associated Press. He currently serves as co-editor of the Heritage Language Journal.