Raising a Bilingual Child (Living Language Series) [Paperback]

Barbara Zurer Pearson (Author), Living Language (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 15, 2008 | Series: Living Language Series

If you would like your children to experience the benefits of becoming bilingual, but you aren’t sure how to teach them a second language, then Raising a Bilingual Child is the perfect step-by-step guide for you.

Raising a Bilingual Child provides parents with information, encouragement, and practical advice for creating a positive bilingual environment. It offers both an overview of why parents should raise their children to speak more than one language and detailed steps parents can take to integrate two languages into their child’s daily routine.

Raising a Bilingual Child also includes inspirational first-hand accounts from parents. It dispels the myth that bilingualism may hinder a child’s academic performance and explains that learning languages at a young age can actually enhance a child’s overall intellectual development.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A timely and well-written book! … [It] helps parents prepare their children for the future….”

--J. Kevin Nugent, Ph.D., Director, The Brazelton Institute, Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard University; Professor, Child and Family Studies, University of Massachusetts Amherst

“This book is sure to become a classic! … Parents should appreciate this important book. Pearson … inspire[s] all of us to celebrate the richness of linguistic diversity in our lives.”

--Kenji Hakuta, Ph.D., Lee L. Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University, Author of Mirror of Language: The Debate on Bilingualism

“This is a book that inspires confidence that the choice of bilingualism is a good one for parents, for children, and for our society.”
--Donna Christian, Ph.D., President, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington D.C.

“Pearson has used her keen insights about the issues that parents are concerned about to paint an in-depth and interesting-to-read handbook.”

--Fred Genesee, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology, McGill University, Co-author of Dual Language Instruction: A Handbook for Enriched Education

“Barbara Pearson' s [book] is a wonderfully written, sparkling composite of research results, personal narratives, practical advice, and wise enthusiasm for the project of bilingualism […].”
--Thomas Roeper, Ph.D., Professor of Linguistics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Author of The Prism of Gramma

“I thoroughly agree with the author’s insights and recommendations which are both research-based and flexible and comprehensive enough to accommodate different family situations.”
--Lourdes C. Rovira, Ed.D., Associate Superintendent, Curriculum and Instructional Support, Miami-Dade County Public Schools 


“I enjoyed reading Raising a Bilingual Child and found it informative and accessible.”
--Chris Rosenberg, Principal, Starr King Elementary School, San Francisco

About the Author

Barbara Zurer Pearson, Ph.D., is a Research Associate in Linguistics and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics is from
the University of Miami. She has over twenty years of research experience in the fields of language acquisition and bilingualism and did ground-breaking work on bilingual acquisition and assessment with her research group at the
University of Miami. Those studies of bilingual infants and children have been published in the book Language and Literacy in Bilingual Children. Most recently, Barbara Zurer Pearson worked on the Diagnostic Evaluation of Language Variation (DELV), a project to develop an innovative language assessment for children funded by the National Institutes of Health.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 346 pages
• Publisher: Living Language (April 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400023343
• ISBN-13: 978-1400023349
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.8 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,775 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to Read and Full of Great Academic Studies! June 25, 2008

By Alice E. Pierce

Format:Paperback

Chapter Two on Learning a First Language is the best thing I have read on First Language Acquisition and I plan to tell the professors where I work that this is the text they should use for their courses on First and Second Language Acquisition (which I have taught for four years). The information is presented in a concise and easy to understand manner so that scholars and parents alike will find it useful and interesting. I think any parent or scholar would find this a useful resource whether they are looking to understand their child's development or trying to find research to back their claims on the benefits of bilingualism. This book is a gold mine of information backed in research. There is nothing that I have read so far on the market that explains all this in such detail and in such a easy way to understand. This is a must as a textbook for a class on language acquisition or as a manual for parents to use as a reference.

A SIGH OF RELIEF FOR ATTEMPTING TO BE BILINGUAL AT HOME
After reading the introduction and the first chapter on The benefits of Childhood Bilingualism, I breathed a sigh of relief. I did not know until reading this book that there were so many other parents like myself who did not grow up speaking another language, yet they are teaching a second language to their children. The book discusses the phenomenon of so many Americans in this generation having the opportunity to travel and experience other languages and cultures. This has created a niche of people in the U.S. who are raising their children with the values and languages they acquired abroad. I live in an English-Only state with everyone questioning my reasons for bringing up my daughter in the two languages of Spanish and English.... It is nice to find a home for my feelings and know there is a larger community of people out there who are following in the same footsteps towards bilingualism. Thank you for giving me hope and appreciation for what I am attempting to do by publishing this book. Read more ›

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable resource for anybody interested in bilingualism and bilingual upbringing April 29, 2008

By Miren Hodgson

Format:Paperback

This book is an excellent tool for anybody who wants to know about bilingual families and bilingual upbringing. The book explains in a very friendly way how language is acquired and the benefits as well as the misconceptions of children raised in bilingual environments. What makes this book unique is that the recommendations are based on research. A must have for anybody interested in language!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excelent, very very informative August 2, 2008

By Bio Mom

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

My husband and I speak different languages and we are expecting our first child. She is also my parents' first grandchild and they are crazy about her. Unfortunately, my parents do not speak English, and my in-laws do not speak Spanish. For us it is very important that our child has the best of both cultures and that she grows up as an independent child that is able to express herself.

We found this book interesting, very informative and easy to read. It is a great educational tool for parents who believe in spending time with their children rather than sitting them in front of the TV.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Very informative on an academic level January 5, 2011

By RO1977

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I found this book helpful in getting my husband and I started on a path to bilingualism. The author discusses different approaches. I bought this book because it had a whole section on OPOL (One Parent One Language), which is what we are trying.
The reason I only gave it 3 stars is because I found myself reading (or as I interpreted) many justifications as to why bilingualism works/ is important. I felt the author was trying to sell me on educating my child to be bilingual...I bought the book for a reason - obviously I believe in bilingualism, don't try to then sell me on it in every chapter.
The book was very informative and the author has done lots of research. The book in itself is very helpful.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as practical as I was hoping for June 9, 2009

By PSS

Format:Paperback

I bought this book because the other reviews were so positive. I appreciate its academic value. But as a mom of two children under 3 who is raising her children billingual, I have not found it as parent-friendly and applicable as I need. I tend to fall asleep every time I try to read it.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Some objectivity please March 21, 2009

By Akira R1100

Format:Paperback

The author has done so much research, yet refuses to make objective observations. Failed attempts have nearly no representation, so the later 2/3rds of the book is simply a collection of we-tried-this-and-it-was-so-so stories. You could choose to follow the example of a case study in the book and never know it fails for three out of four kids.

I have plenty of adult friends who failed to become fluent let alone native-level bilinguals despite their general academic strength and their parents efforts, so it's not a trivial issue.

I'll be looking for another book on the topic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical, encouraging, and realistic guide for bilingual families November 2, 2010

By Laurie Davidson, Mucho Gusto Spanish

Format:Paperback

In the Spanish music and movement program for young children that
I direct, I recommend Barbara Pearson's book to all the parents, whether they come from monolingual or multilingual homes.

I find the book very encouraging. My husband and I (both native
speakers of English) are raising our three children bilingually. I re-read parts of the book when I want to be re-energized, sometimes to find what our next steps are, sometimes just to be reminded why we're doing it. With young children in the house, it took me a little while to get around to reading the sections with background information about bilinguals, but when I did, I found them fascinating and accessible.

I don't understand how someone can think this book is not
objective. Pearson addresses so many different scenarios and types of bilingual households that it's easy to find yourself in the book. I feel she bends over backwards to include as many different perspectives as possible, including people who tried to raise a bilingual child, but let it go. She is practical and realistic. She lets you know that bilingualism doesn't just happen unless someone helps it happen. It takes commitment and a certain amount of outside help, which isn't always available.

I keep a couple of copies on hand, and lend them to people when they have questions I can't answer. I am thrilled that it's just been published in Spanish - Hijo Bilingüe - so now I can recommend the book to my Spanish speaking families as well.