The Multilingual Mind

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 include:. 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

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.

Tables and ChartsContributing AuthorsPrefaceIntroduction by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaMyths About MultilingualismMyths About Multilingualism by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaSchooling and Foreign LanguagesTeaching Languages Using the Multiple Intelligences and Senses by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaThe Role of the Sense of Smell in Language Learning by Sara Ackerman AoyamaMulitliteracy Skills by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaTwo-Way Immersion Programs in the United States by Jennifer FrengelThe Relationship Between Musical Ability and Foreign Languages by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaLanguage, Math, and Thought: Vygotsky's Concept of Inner Speech by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaPrimary Multilingual Mathematics by Marie PetraitisDegrees of MultilingualismLanguages in the Womb by Andrea Bader-RuschFirst Choice Option: From Birth by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaBilingualism from Birth by Manuela Gonzalez-BuenoTrilingualism: A Study of Children Growing Up With Three Languages by Suzanne Hauwaert-BarronWhat, You Only Speak One Language!? A Trilingual Family's Story by Nicola KupelikilincSociety and LanguagesThird Culture Kids: A Special Case for Foreign Language Learning by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaThe Yellow Streetcar: Thoughts and Stories About a Polyphonic Identity by Christina Allemann-GhiondaLinguistic Hegemony: Is There a Superior Language by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaForeign Adoption and Bilingual Children in Scarce Language Environments: Let the Internet Help! by Maria JohnsonMultilingualism and Cosmopolitanism by Konrad GuneschIndividual DifferencesA Voice Within a Voice: Federman Translating/Translating Federman, A Question of Linguistic Identity by Raymond FedermanChallenges to Normal Foreign Language Learning: Dyslexia, Downs Syndrome, Deafness by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaConclusion by Tracey Tokuhama-EspinosaBibliographyIndex