Balancing several languages at once with Monika Schmid

Professor Monika Schmid is the head of department of language and linguistics at the University of Essex. She received her PHD at the University of Dusseldorf and speaks four languages; German, Dutch, English and French. The university has earned headlines for its commitment to becoming carbon neutral. New sustainable buildings are cropping up against the background of its existing stark 60s architecture. Her main area of research is the loss of natural language among multilingual people. It’s a problem she’s experienced directly as a multi linguist herself. She talks about how she stays fresh with her languages and the peculiar challenge of switching between the two. In addition, she tells us more about what it’s like to be a professor at one of Britain’s most forward-thinking universities, and how work and personal life becomes blurred. With working from home complicating things further, maintaining a work life balance can be a struggle.