On Thursday 3rd October, our Sixth Form students with an interest in Linguistics and Language acquisition were invited to a conference at Bedford School, delivered by Elizabeth Wonnacott, a Professor of Language Science at the University of Oxford.

This engaging event provided valuable insights into language development and the impact of technology on learning. Here’s what some of our students had to say about their experience:

Amelia Hudson (French A Level student)

“Professor Elizabeth Wonnacott‘s lecture on primary and secondary linguistic development in school children was a really interesting experience for me. I found that a lot of the information that was discussed was not only relevant to both my English Language and French A-Level courses, but also relevant to widening my knowledge on the topic of linguistics as a whole. I also found it interesting to hear opinions on the influence of Artificial Intelligence on language learning, notably using a programme called the Omniloquent Language Primer, which helps the user to talk with an AI bot in any chosen language, simulating real life to help practise speaking the language without the worry of making mistakes in an active conversation. Overall, it was a thought-provoking lecture and I really enjoyed it!”

Lily Deng (French IB student)

“I really enjoyed attending the linguistic themed lecture on language learning by Professor Elizabeth Wonnacott. I found her research to be particularly insightful towards the issue of declining MFL proficiency and education in the UK student demographic due to English being considered as a ‘lingua franca’. It was also a great opportunity to learn about the differences in language acquisition performance between primary and secondary school children, experimental methods for psychological studies and the future implications of using large language models to assist with practising oral learning.”

Sophie Wilshin (English Language A Level student)

“I found the lecture very interesting, and Professor Wonnacott was a brilliant speaker! She spoke to us about her research into how technology can play a part in supporting second language learning in schools. And she told us about a newly developed language learning platform, Omniloquent Language Primer, which uses AI to help improve language skills in a conversational setting.”