The Multilingual Mind: Issues Discussed by, for, and about People Living with Many Languages

by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa (Editor)

The bulk of the world's population is multilingual, and one in seven Americans speak a language other than English at home. Multilinguals crave answers to question both basic and profound, questions relating to linguistic identity, schools, multiliteracy, how languages are actually learned, and why there are so many variations on individual success. Tokuhama-Espinosa combines solid research, humor, and real-life examples into 21 informative and entertaining essays about people who experience the world with multiple languages.

This book tackles common misconceptions about polyglots (too many languages can cause brain overload, some languages are easier to learn than others, an adult cannot learn a foreign language as fast as a child, etc.)

Other topics
• Curriculum choice
• Teaching languages using the multiple intelligences
• How different education systems can influence multilingual skills
• Language's relationship to mental tasks such as music and math
• Languages from the womb and bilingualism from birth
• The growth of the trilingual family
• The societal situation of third culture kids (those growing outside of their parents' native country)
• A special case for foreign language development
• The emerging cross-area study of multilingualism and cosmopolitanism
• Questions of linguistic identity
• Challenges to normal foreign language learning, such as dyslexia, Downs Syndrome, and deafness

Genres: Language, Linguistics, Nonfiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published March 30, 2003

Reviews

[Esther B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many pertinent questions and fascinating studies around multilingualism from the role of scent in language learning, to competing cultures in trilingualism, to success models of immersion schools and so on. The author probably tried to put a little too much into one book: questions, myth busting, her own experience, conducted studies, third-party essays, testimonials and thus watered down some of the answers. Still, I bought the book (had been reading a library copy) for future reference since many thoughts are worth revisiting as our children grow or our questions develop and context changes. Not a perfect book but a type of book that gets you thinking on subjects that might not have crossed your mind.