Learning to Read and Write in the Multilingual Family

By (author) Dr. Xiao-lei Wang

Publication date:

21 April 2011

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

225x170mm
7x9"

ISBN-13: 9781847693709

This book is a guide for parents who wish to raise children with more than one language and literacy. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, as well as the experiences of parents of multilingual children, this book walks parents through the multilingual reading and writing process from infancy to adolescence. It identifies essential literacy skills at each developmental stage and proposes effective strategies that facilitate multiliteracy, in particular, heritage-language literacy development in the home environment. This book can also be used as a reference for teachers who teach in community heritage language schools and in school heritage (or foreign) language programmes.

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 2: Understanding the Multilingual Reading and Writing Process

Chapter 3: The Importance of Active Planning

Chapter 4: Infancy and Early Childhood (Birth–5 Years)

Chapter 5: Middle Childhood (6 -11 Years)

Chapter 6: Adolescence (12 -18 Years)

Chapter 7: Parents’ Practices, Voices, and Concluding Remarks

How do I teach my child to read and write in our minority languages? Most parents raising multilingual children find themselves asking this question at one point or another. Here is a book chock full with practical advice to help us on this quest! The book offers a wide palette of strategies, ideas, practical activities, reading lists, and real-life examples of how other families did it. The ultimate aim is to help parents develop and implement a literacy plan that meets the needs of their personal multilingual situation. The author covers all ages, from infancy to early and middle childhood to adolescence. In short: there is something in there for everyone!