Growing Up with Two Languages: A Practical Guide - Softcover

Cunningham-Andersson, Una; Andersson, Staffan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 041521257X ISBN 13: 9780415212571

Publisher: Routledge, 1999

Synopsis

This bestselling book is for anyone - parents, teachers and language professionals alike - who need advice on how children can get the most from a bilingual situation.

In Growing Up with Two Languages Una Cunningham-Andersson and Staffan Andersson provide a highly informative account of the stages of language development; describe and evaluate the various systems and strategies that can be adopted; and look at the problems that can occur when a child is exposed to two language and cultures.

Illustrated throughout with the real life experiences of fifty families around the world, this book concludes with clear practical advice on how to support and document a child's bilingual development, and how to make the most of the Internet.

About this title

Review

'Every family with two languages should have this book!' - Stephen Ryan, The Bilingual Family Newsletter

Synopsis

The lives of many families involve contact with more than one language and culture on a daily basis. These children can potentially become proficient in both the languages around them, provided they receive enough input in both languages. Growing Up with Two Languages is aimed at the kany parents and professionals who feel uncertain about the best way to go about helping children to gain maximum benefit from the situation. Every family's situation is different, but there is a good deal that parents can do to make life with two languages easier for their children. Families often establish an informal system for deciding who speaks what language in which situation. Consistency in sticking to the system will be helpful to the child, especially at the beginning. The 'one person-one language' system, where each person speaks one of the languages (usually his/her native language) to the child and the 'minority language at home' system, where the entire family speaks the language which is not spoken in the community at home are two of the most common systems. There are, however, as many variations on these systems as there are families.

There is no right or wrong way - here each family has to find its own system. Growing Up with Two Languages is illustrated by glimpses of life from interviews with fifty families from all around the world. The trials and rewards of life with two languages and cultures are discussed in detail, and followed by practical advice on how to support the child's linguistic development.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 041521257X
• ISBN 13: 9780415212571
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 168