The bulk of the world's population is multilingual, and one in seven Americans speak a language other than English at home. Multilinguals crave answers to questions both basic and profound, questions relating to linguistic identity, schools, multiliteracy, how languages are actually learned, and why there are so many variations on individual success. Tokuhama-Espinosa combines solid research, humor, and real-life examples into 21 informative and entertaining essays about people who experience the world with multiple languages.
The bulk of the world's population is multilingual, and one in seven Americans speak a language other than English at home. Multilinguals crave answers to questions both basic and profound, questions relating to linguistic identity, schools, multiliteracy, how languages are actually learned, and why there are so many variations on individual success.^L Tokuhama-Espinosa combines solid research, humor, and real-life examples into 21 informative and entertaining essays about people who experience the world with multiple languages.
This book tackles common misconceptions about polyglots (too many languages can cause brain overload, some languages are easier to learn than others, an adult cannot learn a foreign language as fast as a child, etc.). Other topics include:^L ^DBLCurriculum choice^L ^DBLTeaching languages using the multiple intelligences^L ^DBLHow different education systems can influence multilingual skills^L ^DBLLanguage's relationship to mental tasks such as music and math^L ^DBLLanguages from the womb and bilingualism from birth^L ^DBLThe growth of the trilingual family^L ^DBL The societal situation of third culture kids (those growing outside of their parents' native country) ^L ^DBLA special case for foreign language development^L ^DBLThe emerging cross-area study of multilingualism and cosmopolitanism^L ^DBLQuestions of linguistic identity^L ^DBLChallenges to normal foreign language learning, such as dyslexia, Downs Syndrome, and deafness
