In 2023, Dr Susanne Brouwer received a Radboud Science Award for her research on Gewetensvolle taal (Conscientious Language), where she developed inquiry-based activities for primary schools in cooperation with the Science Hub. On Monday, 11 March, she visited Brakkenstein Primary School (Nijmegen) and showed the children of group 8 what her research was about by doing a number of activities together with them. The aim is to promote children's curiosity and inquisitive attitude and introduce them to science at an early age.
About the research
It was already known that people make more utilitarian choices when presented with a moral dilemma in their second language than when it is done in their native language. A utilitarian decision means that people choose the option that will work out best for the greatest number of people. With her research, Susanne Brouwer found that we also make more utilitarian choices when a speaker with a foreign accent presents a moral dilemma than by a native speaker without an accent. This Foreign Accent Effect has several explanations. For one, we feel more emotions in our native language. Another reason is that listening to a speaker with a foreign accent takes more cognitive effort and creates more distance because the person does not belong to the social group. Read more.
In class
During the in-class project, students investigated how many languages they knew and did their own research on the Foreign Language Effect. By making the richness of languages visible in the classroom, pupils become aware of their multilingualism and that of their classmates. Thus, students develop an open attitude to other linguistic and cultural backgrounds, which may positively affect how students interact in a class.
Are you also interested in sharing your research with children? Then contact the Science Hub.