A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to Bilingualism , livre ebook

PARENTS AND TEACHERS GUIDES
Series Editor: Colin Baker, Bangor University, UK
This series provides immediate advice and practical help on topics where parents and teachers frequently seek answers. Each book is written by one or more experts in a style that is highly readable, non-technical and comprehensive. No prior knowledge is assumed: a thorough understanding of a topic is promised after reading the appropriate book.
Full details of all the books in this series and of all our other publications can be found on http://www.multilingual-matters.com , or by writing to Multilingual Matters, St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW, UK.
A Parents and Teachers Guide to Bilingualism
4th edition
Colin Baker
MULTILINGUAL MATTERS
Bristol Buffalo Toronto
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Baker, Colin A Parents and Teachers Guide to Bilingualism/Colin Baker. 4th edition. Parents and Teachers Guides: 18. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Bilingualism. I. Title. P115.B346 2014 306.44 6083-dc23 2013048687
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN-13: 978-1-78309-160-7 (hbk) ISBN-13: 978-1-78309-159-1 (pbk)
Multilingual Matters UK: St Nicholas House, 31-34 High Street, Bristol BS1 2AW, UK. USA: UTP, 2250 Military Road, Tonawanda, NY 14150, USA. Canada: UTP, 5201 Dufferin Street, North York, Ontario M3H 5T8, Canada.
Copyright 2014 Colin Baker.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Contents
Acknowledgements
An Introduction to the Fourth Edition
Introduction
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 partnership/marriage?
A6 My partner does not understand the language that I will speak to my child. Is this a problem?
A7 What happens if grandparents and the extended family disapprove of bilingualism?
A8 What is the one person-one language (OPOL) approach? Is it effective?
A9 I m a one-parent family. How can I raise my child bilingually?
A10 Neither of us speaks a second language. How can we help our child become bilingual?
A11 My children get little practice in speaking one of their languages outside the family. What should I do?
A12 When watching television, should my child be encouraged to listen to one language or both languages?
A13 My children can speak two languages. How can I help them belong to two cultures?
A14 How important is it that the child s two languages are practiced and supported outside the home?
A15 What kind of community support is valuable for bilingualism?
A16 My neighbours think we should integrate more which means using a different language from the home. Should we keep separate or integrate?
A17 Can I learn a second language alongside my child?
A18 We have just moved to a different country. Should we speak the host country s language in the home to help our children?
A19 What should our language strategy be with an adopted child?
A20 I speak two languages fairly fluently - which should I choose to speak to my child?
A21 I would like to speak my first language to my child but I have got out of the habit of using it. Can I do anything to get back in the habit?
Section B: Language Development Questions
B1 What are the most important factors in raising a bilingual child?
B2 Do some children find it easier than others to become bilingual?
B3 Does bilingual development start in the fetal stage?
B4 Is it easier to become bilingual as a young child?
B5 How early do bilingual children recognize that they have two languages?
B6 Is it better for my child to learn a language early to secure better storage in the brain?
B7 Will my child become equally fluent in two languages?
B8 Is it better to develop two languages together or one language later than the other?
B9 How do I know my child s language development in each language is normal and acceptable?
B10 Will learning a second language interfere with development in the first language?
B11 Are there benefits even if my child has a less well-developed second language?
B12 What effect will bilingualism have on my child s intelligence?
B13 I want my children to be successful. Should I concentrate on developing their first/majority language skills?
B14 Should my child keep the two languages separate in different situations and with different people (e.g. visitors)?
B15 Should my child use two languages with the same person?
B16 Will my child s attitudes affect the learning of a second language?
B17 Is it sensible to raise my child multilingually?
B18 Do bilinguals learn a third language easier than monolinguals learn a second language?
B19 Do girls and boys differ in their progress towards bilingualism and biliteracy?
B20 Are first-borns different to later-borns in developing bilingualism?
B21 My child mixes their two languages. Is this normal?
B22 Does switching between languages have any value or purpose?
B23 When will my bilingual child be able to interpret and translate from one language to another?
B24 How much will experience of majority language mass media affect the development of bilingualism in my child?
B25 Can music and drama help my child s bilingual development?
B26 Will computers and information technology affect my child s bilingualism?
B27 How important are employment prospects to preserve my child s languages into adulthood?
B28 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 The balance of my child s two languages seems to be shifting. How can I ensure one language doesn t disappear?
C6 Will my child learn two languages only half as well as a monolingual child?
C7 Will my child s thinking be affected by being bilingual?
C8 Does bilingualism have an effect on the functioning of the brain?
C9 Will my bilingual children have a problem of identity with two different cultures?
C10 Will my identity change if I raise children to be bilingual and bi(multi)cultural?
C11 What will happen to our identity if we move to live in another country?
C12 Will bilingualism have any adverse effect on my child s personality?
C13 Will bilingualism have any adverse effect on my child s friendships and social development?
C14 My child seems to have learning difficulties. Is this due to bilingualism?
C15 My child seems to have an emotional/behavioural problem. Is this caused by bilingualism?
C16 My child has a specific diagnosed problem (e.g. severe 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?
C17 My child stutters. Is this caused or made worse by bilingualism?
C18 My child is autistic or has Asperger s syndrome. Should we use one language only with the child?
C19 People make fun of our speaking a minority language. How should I react?
C20 People around me are prejudiced and racist. Should we as a family switch to speaking only the majority language?
C21 I m a recent immigrant to a country. Should I stop speaking my native language and switch to the first language of that country?
C22 My second language is not perfect. Should I speak it to my child?
C23 A local professional (e.g. a doctor, psychologist, speech therapist, teacher) advised me against bilingualism. Is this correct?
C24 Do teenagers suffer or gain if their parents come from different language and cultural backgrounds (mixed language marriages)?
C25 What are the most common reasons that children raised in a multilingual setting do not achieve functional multilingualism?
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 Can a child learn to be literate in three languages?
D5 When should a child begin to read in a second language?
D6 How should I help my child to read and write in both languages?
D7 Which approach to teaching reading in English works best? The look and say , phonemic awareness , phonics , whole language or what approach?
D8 Should I buy books for my child to read that contain two languages or just one language?
D9 How can I locate books for my child to read in each language?
D10 Will my child find it hard to write in two different languages?
D11 My child seems slow in learni