The Cognitive
Benefits of
Language Learning
A Critical Synthesis for
Policy, Practice and Research
The British Academy has commissioned a research team to
provide an up-to-date systematic review of research into the
cognitive benefits of language learning, analyse its implications
for policy and practice, and identify potential interventions and
gaps in our knowledge. This Special Research Project is part of
the British Academy’s initiative to deepen awareness and
demonstrate the importance of languages.
Broadening Our Perspectives
Although there has been a surge of interest in recent
years in the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, research
on the socio-economic and cognitive benefits of
language learning has had less attention. As well as
reviewing research on the relationship between
bilingualism, executive function, literacy, and health,
this project will include systematic reviews, analysis
and synthesis of such areas as creativity, social and
affective cognition, and bilingualism in signed as well
as spoken languages, linking bi/multilingualism and
language learning with broader perspectives on
cognition including intercultural understanding.
This project is concerned with language learning
in relation to cognitive function across the lifespan,
including modern and community language education,
language skills, employment/ability, community
cohesion, and public policy, and explores crosscurriculum and cross-societal benefits to individuals
and various Socio-Economic Classification groups.
Final Report and Outcomes
The research team intend the final report to initiate
change in public understanding of the cognitive
benefits of language learning and in the development
of current and future strategies for language education
in different contexts, in turn impacting on the
wellbeing of individuals, coherence of communities,
and the socio-cultural and economic development
of Britain. A key legacy of the project will be a
comprehensive and fully annotated research corpus
(searchable according to methods, sample, languages,
learning conditions, modality, geography, etc.) for
future research and teaching.
www.britishacademy.ac.uk | @britac_news
The Research Team
B ENCIE WOLL FBA, BA, MA, PhD
Professor of Sign Language and Deaf Studies,
and Director of the Deafness Cognition,
and Language (DCAL) Research Centre, UCL
LI WEI PhD, FAcSS, FRSA
Chair of Applied Linguistics,
Director of the UCL Centre for Applied Linguistics,
and Professor at the Institute of Education, UCL
CLAUDIA YOGESWARAN
MA (Hons), MLitt, MA
Research Assistant at ucl, dcal
Contact
DEAFNESS, COGNITION, AND
LANGUAGE (DCAL) RESEARCH CENTRE
University College London
49 Gordon Square
London, wc1h 0pd
e: [email protected]
t: +44(0)20 7679 8679
f: +44(0)20 7679 8691
JOSEPH BUCKLEY
The British Academy
10-11 Carlton House Terrace
London, sw1y 5ah
e: [email protected]
t: +44 (0)20 7969 5318
WEB
www.ucl.ac.uk/
cognitive-benefits-language-learning
@CBoLL_UCL
References
Tinsley, T. (2013).
Languages: The State of the Nation.
The British Academy,
The British Academy: 1-24.