A parents' and teachers' guide to bilingualism /
This edition provides an introduction of practical value to questions of bilingualism for parents and teachers. The style of the book is to pose the questions that are asked most often, followed by straightforward answers.
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Clevedon, England ; Buffalo, NY :
Multilingual Matters,
©2000.
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| Edition: | 2nd ed. |
| Series: | Parents' and teachers' guides ;
no. 1. |
| Subjects: |
Table of Contents:
- Section A. Family Questions
- A1. What are the advantages of my child becoming bilingual?
- A2. Are some families better placed than others to produce bilingual children?
- A3. Is the mother more important than the father in the child's language development?
- A4. What happens if parents don't agree that their children should become bilingual?
- A5. If we raise our child to be bilingual, will it affect our marriage?
- A6. What happens if grandparents and the extended family disapprove of bilingualism?
- A7. I'm a one-parent family. How can I raise my child bilingually?
- A8. Neither of us speaks a second language. How can we help our child become bilingual?
- A9. My children get little practice in speaking one of their languages outside the family. What should I do?
- A10. When watching television, should my child be encouraged to listen to one language or both languages?
- A11.
- B5. Is it better for my child to learn a language early to secure better storage in the brain?
- B6. Will my child become equally fluent in two languages?
- B7. Is it better to develop two languages together or one language later than the other?
- B8. How do I know my child's language development in each language is normal and acceptable?
- B9. Will learning a second language interfere with development in the first language?
- B10. Are there any benefits if my child has a less well developed second language?
- B11. What effect will bilingualism have on my child's intelligence?
- B12. I want my children to be successful. Should I concentrate on developing their first/majority language skills?
- B13. Should my child keep the two languages separate in different situations and with different people (e.g. visitors)?
- B14. Should my child use two languages with the same person?
- B15. Will my child's attitudes affect the learning of a second language?
- B16. Is it sensible to raise my child in three languages?
- B17. Do girls and boys differ in their progress towards bilingualism and biliteracy?
- B18. Are first-borns different to later-borns in developing bilingualism?
- B19. Does switching between languages have any value or purpose?
- B20. When will my bilingual child be able to interpret and translate from one language to another?
- B21. How much will experience of majority language mass media affect the development of bilingualism in my child?
- B22. Can music and drama help my child's bilingual development?
- B23. Will computers and Information Technology affect my child's bilingualism?
- B24. How important are employment prospects to preserve my child's languages into adulthood?
- B25. I need to change the language(s) I've used with my children. How will it affect them?
- Section C. Questions About Problems
- C1. What are the disadvantages of my child becoming bilingual?
- C2. My child mixes the two languages. What should I do?
- C3. My child refuses to use one of his/her languages. What should I do?
- C4. My teenage child is speaking the majority language more and more. What can I do?
- C5. Will my child learn two languages only half as well as a monolingual child?
- C6. Will my child's thinking be affected by being bilingual?
- C7. Does bilingualism have an effect on the functioning of the brain?
- C8. Will my bilingual children have a problem of identity with two different cultures?
- C9. Will bilingualism have any adverse effect on my child's personality?
- C10. Will bilingualism have any adverse effect on my child's friendships and social development?
- C11. balance of my child's two languages seems to be shifting. How can I ensure one language doesn't disappear?
- C12. My child seems to have learning difficulties. Is this due to bilingualism?
- C13. My child seems to have an emotional/behavioral problem. Is this caused by bilingualism?
- C14. My child has a specific diagnosed problem (e.g. learning difficulty, language disorder, emotional problem). Should we change to speaking one language to the child rather than two languages? What language should I speak to my child?
- C15. My child stutters. Is this caused by bilingualism?
- C16. People make fun of our speaking a minority language. How should I react?
- C17. People around me are prejudiced and racist. Should we as a family switch to speaking only the majority language?
- C18. I'm a recent in-migrant to a country. Should I stop speaking my native language and switch to the first language of that country?
- C19. My second language is not perfect. Should I speak it to my child?
- C20. local professional (e.g. a doctor, psychologist, speech therapist, teacher) advised me against bilingualism. Is this correct?
- C21. Do teenagers suffer or gain if their parents come from different language and cultural backgrounds (mixed language marriages)?
- Section D. Reading and Writing Questions
- D1. Should my child learn to read in one language first?
- D2. Will learning to read in a second language interfere with reading in the first language?
- D3. If the two languages have different scripts, will learning to read and write be a problem?
- D4. When should a child begin to read in a second language?
- D5. How should I help my child to read and write in both languages?
- D6. Which approach to teaching reading works best? The 'look and say', 'phonics', 'whole language' or what approach?
- D7. Should I buy books for my child to read that contain two languages or just one language?
- D8. How can I locate books for my child to read in each language?
- D9. Will my child find it hard to write in two different languages?
- D10. My child seems slow in learning to read. Is this due to bilingualism?
- D11. My child has problems with spelling. Is this due to bilingualism?
- Section E. Education Questions
- E1. How can a nursery school support children's bilingualism?
- E2. Should my child go to a bilingual school?
- E3. What should I look out for in choosing a school for my bilingual child?
- E4. Should my child be taught bilingually in the primary school but not in the secondary school?
- E5. Should older children not be placed in bilingual education?
- E6. Is there a 'critical age' when children shouldn't be moved to a school with a different language pattern in the curriculum?
- E7. My children can hold a conversation in a second language. Is that sufficient for them to be taught in that language at school?
- E8. My child is learning through a second language at school. Should we change our language pattern at home?
- E9. How easy or difficult will it be for my children to find a job if they are bilingual?
- Types of Bilingual Education
- E10. What types of bilingual education exist?
- E11. What are Dual Language schools?
- E12. What are International schools?
- E13. What is the European Schools Movement?
- E14. What is Heritage Language Bilingual Education?
- E15. What is Transitional Bilingual Education?
- E16. What is 'immersion bilingual education'?
- E17. What are the main classroom features of successful immersion programs?
- E18. What language strategies are used in immersion classrooms?
- E19. What is a Withdrawal class for extra language support?
- E20. What kind of education should I give my child if we regularly move to different countries?
- E21. What are Saturday Schools and Voluntary Schools outside regular school hours, and how valuable are they in the development of a minority or second language?
- Achievement and Underachievement Questions
- E22. Will my child's performance in school be affected by being bilingual?
- E23. Are there positive effects of learning through the medium of two languages?
- E24. My child is learning through a new language. Will this affect attainment at school?
- E25. My child's school teaches through the minority language. Will this affect my child's development in the majority language?
- E26. Speakers of our home language are often poor and unemployed. Should we ensure our child is educated in the majority language to aid employment prospects?
- E27. My child seems to be underachieving at school. Is this because of bilingualism?
- E28. Should my child be placed in a Bilingual Special Education Program?
- E29. My child is suffering in school because other children tease him/her about speaking another language. What can I do?
- Language in the Classroom
- E30. Will my child be able to learn a new language thoroughly in the school system?
- E31. How should two languages be distributed in a bilingual classroom?
- E32. Should Science and Mathematics be taught in an international language such as English?
- E33. My child's school doesn't support bilingualism and there is no bilingual school nearby. What should I do?
- E34. Which language should be used to test/assess/counsel a bilingual child? What should be the nature of such assessment?
- E35. Are teachers trained to help bilingual children?
- Section F. Concluding Questions
- F1. economy and politics of the world is changing. Is there a future for bilingualism?
- F2. Why is it important for minority languages to survive in the future?
- F3. Are monolinguals more common than bilinguals in the world?
- F4. Why are many politicians against bilingualism and bilingual education?
- F5. Is bilingualism a natural right of any individual?
- F6. Does my child have a right to bilingual education? (e.g. in law, a natural right)?
- F7. Language is an important part of our religion. Should my child learn a second language for this purpose?
- F8. I use a particular dialect/a Creole/a pidgin language in the home. Is your advice about raising a bilingual child different or similar?
- F9. I have a deaf child. Is your advice about raising a bilingual child different or similar?
- F10. People talk about diglossia. What does it mean?
- F11. Books on child care and child development warn me against bilingualism. How should I react?
- F12. How do I contact other parents in a similar situation?
- F13. Is the Internet going to affect my child's bilingualism?
- F14. How do I find out more information about bilingualism?