Raising Multilingual Children Spiral-Bound | 2017-03-29

Julia Festman Gregory J. Poarch Jean-Marc Dewaele

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Raising a multilingual family can be both confusing and fulfilling. The authors, all multilingual parents and researchers on multilingualism, aim to provide advice and inspiration for multilingual families across the world. The latest research is used to provide a friendly, accessible guide to raising and nurturing happy multilingual children.

Have you ever been told that raising your child to speak multiple languages will harm their development? Are teachers or other professionals suspicious of your efforts? Are you sometimes unsure if you are helping your child's language development, or are you uncertain where to start? It is increasingly recognised among researchers that, far from harming a child's development, being exposed to multiple languages from birth or early childhood can result in linguistic, creative and social advantages. The authors, all multilinguals themselves, parents of multilingual children, and researchers on language and multilingualism, aim to provide advice and inspiration for multilingual families across the world. The latest research on multilingualism and the authors' own experiences are used to provide a friendly, accessible guide to raising and nurturing happy multilingual children.

Publisher: Ingram Publisher Services
Original Binding: Paperback
Pages: 120 pages
ISBN-10: 1783097566
Item Weight: 0.4 lbs
Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.3 x 8.3 inches

The book is successful in clearly communicating the processes involved in multilingual acquisition to readers who might not have a prior knowledge. It is effectively organized in a way that leads readers to understand why it is important to acquire multiple languages, what to expect during this process, and how to assist children to successful acquisition. The cases of the children provide real-life examples to illustrate and simplify concepts such as code switching, cross-linguistic interference, transfer errors and language awareness, which might be foreign concepts to individuals without a background in the field of linguistics.

-Zehra Melike Palta, University of Toronto, Canada / LINGUIST List 28.4124

Gregory J. Poarch works at the University of Münster, Germany. He is the father of Loïc (15) who speaks Dutch, English and German.