The learning, use and processing of language are influenced by a multitude of factors which interact constantly and dynamically. In bi- and multilingual speakers, this interaction can be expected to be even more complex than in monolingual speakers.

Traditional approaches to understanding the role of individual differences in language learning and use have often focused on either the affective or the cognitive dimension, but rarely on both in conjunction. This workshop will aim to explore the interface of these two dimensions and seek to address questions such as how emotion and cognition interact, and what this means for the learner’s/speaker’s processing, development and usage of language, especially in bi- and multilingual contexts.

In addition, the workshop will bring in social psychological perspectives of language learning and use. This strand will address the development of social attitudes and evaluations towards particular language varieties, and the processes of social cognition through which these attitudes manifest themselves.