America's Bilingual Century: How Americans Are Giving the Gift of Bilingualism to Themselves, Their Loved Ones, and Their Country

by Steve Leveen

Scientists have shown bilingualism to be brain-changing. It can also be life-changing.

In America's Bilingual Century, author Steve Leveen takes you on a journey of reinvention - of yourself, your children, and the country - that takes place when we embrace bilingualism. Based on a decade of research and hundreds of interviews with experts and successful bilinguals, Steve found that a new America is One where more and more people are speaking English and another language.

Steve is one of them. He has "adopted" Spanish as his second language. Learning it later in his life gave him both insight and empathy.

He offers both in this audiobook, along with loads of practical advice on how you, too, can become part of this 21st-century America.

For adults who've never mastered a second language and believe they never can, Steve debunks myths, reveals the good news on improved teaching methods, and shares some of the learning techniques that work well for adults.

For parents, he shows the decisive advantage that bilingual children have - not just in language class, but with all their learning. He also takes parents on a tantalizing tour of dual language immersion programs, which may well be the future of education in America.

For every American, he takes us back into our history, exploring why a country that contained many languages at various periods is ready to become that country again - but better. Then he re-imagines for us how an America of flourishing bilingualism might look, sound, and feel.

If bilingualism isn't yet in your future, it just might be after listening to this thought-provoking, eloquent, and heartwarming audiobook.

Genres: Nonfiction

Audible Audio

Published February 4, 2021

About the author

Steve Leveen devoted his first career to celebrating literacy, cofounding the first company in America to create products for readers (Levenger) and serving on the board of the National Book Foundation. He is now devoting his encore career to biliteracy, championing bilingualism in America as a path to a stronger and healthier nation. A monolingual until midlife, Steve has chosen Spanish as his adopted language and is an avid learner.
Steve divides his time between South Florida, where he successfully practices his Spanish, and Maine, where he is somewhat less successful in sounding like a local. America’s Bilingual Century is his third book. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Christian Science Monitor. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Cornell University.

Reviews

[Cynthia Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether yours is a personal goal to learn another language, a parent’s dream to raise bilingual kids, or a civic aspiration to bring the power of dual language to your school district or the larger culture, America’s Bilingual Century is an authority that you will turn to again and again. Author Steve Leveen balances a charmingly personal writing style with deep research and interviews with linguists, polyglots, teachers, globe-circling businesspeople, and many others who share insights on how we learn and benefit from new languages—individually and as a culture. The resulting dive into bilingualism is both fascinating and helpful. It is both unassuming and authoritative. It is one of the most authentic books I’ve ever read. And while there is a lot here to help readers and/or their children learn a dual language, what elevates this book is its vision for an America strengthened by bilingualism. Leveen sees dual language as fundamental to a more-just, more-peaceful nation. He shows how bilingualism can inoculate children against prejudice. He imagines a time when U.S. soldiers say, “I serve America in English and Hindi,” “I serve America in English and Arabic,” and so on.

Practically every myth you’ve heard about language—the best time to learn is when you’re young, technology is making language learning obsolete—is roundly debunked in these pages. Whether you are old or young, poor or rich, live in an immigrant family or one that came on the Mayflower, “you can live your larger life by living part of it in another language,” Leveen assures, “enjoying the expanded experience that bilingualism brings.

“Do this and you help not only yourself, but also that grand experiment we call America.”

Excelente … mumtaz … kiváló!

[Jules Pieri Pieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

First a disclaimer: I am really choosy about reading non-fiction books, and I am not a super active language learner. But my interest in bilingualism is long standing, with a successful history as a French speaker, via school and living in Paris for an internship. But, this language base slipped through my fingers over the last 15 years: in fact, I was devastated to find my grasp of the language on very shaky ground on a recent trip to Provence.

I was given this book a few months after the trip, when I had just started to spend a few minutes a day doing an online French course. And what a gift it was. "America's Bilingual Century" was a marvel to me on two fronts:

--Even if you don't care about knowing multiple languages, the richness of the stories, research, and data in the book make reading it a real pleasure. I was floored at Leveen's recollection of stories from his own life as a language learner and also by the level of travel and story-collecting he gave to the creation of this book. You can tell you are in the hands of an experienced writer who takes the responsibility of "taking" your time very seriously. There wasn't a blowsy sentence or claim in the book, yet it remained eminently pace-y and enjoyable.
--The book gave me several practical tips about how to enhance my re-commitment to France without making it an overwhelming proposition. I have made concrete but manageable additions to my daily online study, and they are a regular delight, not a chore. (Reading gossip magazine stories in French 10 minutes a day, turning on subtitles for watching shows, sometimes changing my phone and computer language to French, for example.)

If you have even a passing interest to the topic of language learning, or a specific commitment to the same for you or your children (1/3 of the book is written for parents), consider this book to be a most trustworthy guide.

[Edwige Simon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. It provides an excellent overview of the state of language learning in the United States. It is very well researched and balances the research with beautiful vignettes from lifelong language learners. Although it is a sizable book, it is organized into small chapters that you can read in 20 to 30 minutes. You can also jump from section to section and read the parts that are relevant to you.
There are very few books on language learning written for the general public. Most books on language learning and language acquisition are written with language educators in mind.
That is not to say that you won't learn anything or enjoy it if you are a language teacher. We read this book as part of a language teacher book club that I run, and everybody in the group enjoyed it very much. You will find excellent arguments that you can use to advocate for your language program and for language learning in general.
This book is an excellent addition to your library whether you are thinking of learning a language (or picking up where you left off), interested in language learning in general, or if you are a language educator.
I highly recommend it!

[Roberta Lang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve & Mim have written a book that will challenge your preconceived notions about the state of multi-linguistics in our country. Beginning with the idea that we may be losing some bi-linguistic cultural in subsequent generations, this book looks deeper at the richness of our ever changing culture as new waves of people and language celebrate America as well as the homeland and culture from which they came. America has been a society of diversity for centuries. This book takes a deep and fascinating look at the richness of diverse languages and culture in America. A great read.

[Patricia MacInnes-Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A timely, informative work, an engrossing scholarly personal narrative that provides an essential how-to guide for language learners. America’s Bilingual Century shares polyglots’ captivating personal stories, as well as Leveen’s own passage in adopting another language, while offering insights into social phenomena and historical perspectives. The book invites the reader to try new and gratifying ways of learning a language and to enjoy a larger life in the process.

[Gerry Ehrlich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must Read!

Not only is this book a wealth of incredibly researched knowledge on the state of bilingualism in the US, but also just a great read told by a superior storyteller in his element. There are an amazing number of fun & incredible stories, but in the telling Steve Leveen manages to inspire you to make bilingualism a personal goal.

[Christopher Gammill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read and more than just about language. Leveen dips into history and immigration to formulate a wonderful read about the value of multilingualism without demeaning the monolinguists out there. You can feel free to skip around to a variety of parts without missing the story too.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Must read! Phenomenal stories captured by an amazing human

[Harold Richter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intimate look into the personal and societal benefits of bilingualism--thoroughly researched yet presented as if you were sitting at a cafe having a cup of coffee with a friend.

[Britney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a longgg read, but I enjoyed the content!