Free eBooks Bilingual: Life And Reality Available To Downloads
Whether in family life, social interactions, or business negotiations, half the people in the world speak more than one language every day. Yet many myths persist about bilingualism and bilinguals. In a lively and entertaining book, an international authority on bilingualism explores the many facets of life with two or more languages.
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Harvard University Press; Reprint edition (November 19, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0674066138
ISBN-13: 978-0674066137
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #278,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #61 in Books > Reference > Words, Language & Grammar > Translating #114 in Books > Textbooks > Communication & Journalism > Speech #241 in Books > Reference > Words, Language & Grammar > Speech
Are you raising children with two or more languages? Were you raised in a bilingual environment? Are you a second language learner who is wondering what "bilingual" really means and if you will ever get there? François Grosjean's excellent book debunks many of the myths of bilingualism and gives useful and practical suggestions for multilingual families.Grosjean's writing style is clear and engaging. The subject matter is well-organized and logical. He shares personal stories which draw in the reader while referring to current research in the field. Bilingual readers will recognize and relate to his description of real life with two or more languages. For parents trying to raise children with more than one language, this book will give them a useful guide to overcoming some of the challenges and the maximizing the blessings of the bilingual path.I have given this book as a gift to bilingual friends, recommended it enthusiastically to participants in my family language learning workshops and even persuaded my local librarian to order a copy for our town library.
I am bilingual, I learned my second language as an adult. I've had lots of burning questions about myability to speak my first and my second language. Mr Grosjean explains it all in a book that I did not want to put down.Reading the cover of the book I was concerned that it would be too technical, he has written a lot of technical studies. But I was happily mistaken. The book is full of anecdotes and wisdom about being bilingual and raising bilingual children as well.Having read this book I feel better about myself and my abilities, and I feel like I found my "tribe" - other people who speak two or more languages.here are some gems from his book:True: it is easier to swear in your second languageFalse: Children raised learning more than one language get confused and don't do as well in school.The book is full of stuff like this. I recommend it to anyone who has ever studied a second language.
I purchased this book as a Spring Break read years ago. As a Spanish teacher, and mother hoping to raise a child bilingually, I return to this book over and over to refresh my spirit and remind myself how amazing our brains are, and how different a bilingual brain is from a monolingual brain!
As a bilingual father of two small children, before reading this book I was wracked with fear that my children would hit a certain age and then reject their minority language. After reading this book, that fear is still there, as there are sobering accounts in the book of this very thing happening, and how the loss of a child's language has even damaged family relationships. However; even though the fear is still there, I am no longer "wracked" with it, as I am now armed with the proper attitude and techniques to to deal with my children's changing attitudes towards their languages, and how to provide the "necessities" of the minority language into their lives in such a way that they will want to keep it and even enjoy being multilingual.
When a retired bilingual professor who knows his field very well takes the reader on a short and friendly tour, the result is a pleasure in many aspects. For me, two major aspects of the book were its explaining and debunking of myths related to bilingualism (and never forgetting the fact that experiencing a new language means experiencing a new culture and way of thinking at the same time), as well as having a dedicated chapter on the bilingualism of children.The readers who did not know much about bilingualism will gain a lot from this book without having forced to struggle with heavy academic linguistics terminology. Parents who are concerned about the bilingualism of their children will be relieved as Prof. Grosjean explains why many of the myths are problematic or plainly false.From the beginning to the end, the personal tone of the book made me feel like as if I was in a conversation with an old friend who knew a lot about bilingualism and shared this, as well as his personal experiences, without never intimidating.If you want a good, non-academic starter for all matters related bilingualism, this book is one of the few I can sincerely recommend.
I'd recommend this book for teachers and others who want to know more about bilingualism. This is not a book discussing the politics of bilingualism. This is a book that looks at what it really means to be bilingual and how bilinguals and their brains actually function.
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