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The difference between acquiring two or more languages is not only quantitative;
it is, above all, qualitative.
The learning of three languages from childhood entails a different speech pattern.
- [Catalan] Look, I light the wick, it leaves coloured fire and then the panda turns...
-The study, developed by the Multilingual Education Unit at the Universitat Jaume I,
proves that, if we promote the exposure to minority and foreign languages,
we improve the children's language skills.
-Catalan and English favour the communicative competence and development
of children in the stage of pre-literacy in three languages ,
not only in Catalan and English, but in Catalan, English and Spanish.
It is important because, somehow or other,
[Pilar Safont. English Studies lecturer.]
the preconceived ideas about the importance of the amount of exposure hours to languages
to acquire them would be refuted in this sense.
We also think that it is important because the results of our research
can be transferred to society; above all, we think that they have implications
in the current educational programmes with regard to languages learning.
- [Spanish] When he went up and had to jump on the motorbike, and he had jumped,
and then he had touched a little the fire, and that was the emergency.
-The study concludes that the English pragmatic system influences Catalan and English
since those three languages interact with each other.
-Catalan and Spanish used to develop in one way,
and when English first appeared, it completely modified the way to ask for things
that the child had in Catalan and Spanish.
-The study starts from researches which demonstrated
the advantages of bilingual people in Spanish and Catalan
with a view to learning English as a third language.
-However, in order to successfully teach English as the third language,
it must be correctly introduced.
-A good methodology, a good teacher training and a exposure
both in and out of the classroom.
Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit
Communication and Publications Service