Project description
The power of bilingualism in reading development
Phonological development plays a key role in learning to read, but this process can be influenced by the environment, especially in bilinguals. In this context, the ERC-funded BIBALANCE project explores how early bilingualism, involving two phonological systems, affects the brain’s organisation and reading success. It focuses on the concept of hemispheric rebalance, where bilingualism reshapes brain dynamics by redistributing attentional resources between brain hemispheres. This reorganisation could help protect against dyslexia, which is a condition linked to poorly connected brain systems. By studying 500 Basque-Spanish bilingual children, BIBALANCE aims to uncover how bilingualism interacts with genetic risks to improve reading outcomes, offering new insights for education and dyslexia treatment.
Objective
Learning to read strongly depends on phonological development that is largely influenced by environmental factors. BIBALANCE will investigate the extent to which the early acquisition of two phonological systems in early bilingualism impacts the organisation of the ‘phonological mind’ and determines the success of reading trajectories.
BIBALANCE will examine the mechanism of ‘hemispheric rebalance’ to explain the effects of bilingualism on reading acquisition. We will show that early bilingualism shapes brain dynamics by redistributing attentional weights across the hemispheres towards a highly connected system, and interacts with genetic risks of dyslexia, which is associated with poorly connected systems. BIBALANCE’s aim is to offer a mechanistic understanding of how these bilingual neural reconfigurations may sharpen phonological sensitivity and in turn increase the adaptability of the brain to high genetic risks of dyslexia.
BIBALANCE will establish bilingual hemispheric rebalance as an overarching mechanism that boosts resilience to dyslexia, showing that (i) it explains adaptive strategies across reading proficiency levels, (ii) it precedes and predicts the successful overcoming of reading challenges, (iii) it is relevant across development (before and after dyslexia diagnosis), and (iv) it has impact for remediation. Four work packages will address these challenges in parallel by testing 500 Basque-Spanish bilingual children on indices of bilingual exposure, genetic risks of dyslexia, hemispheric rebalance at the functional, structural, and behavioural levels, and finally, of phonology and reading.
If successful, BIBALANCE will achieve a major breakthrough in understanding how the ‘phonological mind’ is structured and molded to effectively overcome challenges during reading acquisition through a complex interplay between genes and environment. It also has the potential for unprecedented translational impact on clinical practice and education.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-COG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
20009 San Sebastian
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.