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The Multilingual Self: An Inquiry Into Language Learning

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Natasha Lvovich's book has more to do with the psychological implications of language learning than with any of the theorectical aspects of language acquistion. Even though it is not autobiographical in the traditional sense, THE MULTILINGUAL SELF is obviously autobiographical in tone. Lvovich takes the reader into the mental and emotional states which accompany her own individual learning experience, and this is where the charm of the book lives. Without sentimentality or nostalgia, Lvovich's prose describes the journey from anti-Semitism in Soviet Russia to the life of a Russian immigrant in America. Time, space, human relationships and the internalization of the spoken word all collide and inter-connect in this woman's account of language acquistion. Lvovich's approach to language learning as a definition of the self is especially pertinent to students and teachers who are up against those language and cultural barriers so often present in a country represented by increasing immigration.