Family Language Learning

Learn Another Language, Raise Bilingual Children

By (author) Christine Jernigan

Publication date:

19 January 2015

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

225x170mm
7x9"

ISBN-13: 9781783092802

Family Language Learning is a practical guide designed to support, advise and encourage any parents who are hoping to raise their children bilingually. It is unique in that it focuses on parents who are not native speakers of a foreign language. It gives parents the tools they need to cultivate and nurture their own language skills while giving their children an opportunity to learn another language. The book combines cutting-edge research on language exposure with honest and often humorous stories from personal interviews with families speaking a foreign language at home. By dispelling long-held myths about how language is learned, it provides hope to parents who want to give their children bilingual childhoods, but feel they don’t know where to start with learning a foreign language.

Preface

Introduction

How to Use This Book

1. There is a Free Lunch! Bilingual Benefits the Easy Way

2. Forget the Unicorn: Why “Non-Native” is Just Fine

3. Start Small, Start Now: Choosing a Language and Moving Forward

4. Be Your Favorite Teacher: Learn What You Want, When You Want It

5. Many Methods: Flexible Approaches to Fit Your Lifestyle

6. Marketing Strategies: Finding New Ways to Increase Motivation

7. Talk Talk Talk: Strategies for When to Talk and What to Talk About

8. The Play’s the Thing: Fun and Simple Resources

9. Right to Read: Growing Kids' Independence Through Books

10. Delight to Write: Sharing Ways to Create and Tell

11. Plane Jane, Bus Gus: Finding Ways to Actually Go There

12. Meeting Challenges: Skillfully Riding the Ups and Downs

Parting Words

Family Language Learning is a delight! It demystifies language learning through a mixture of family experiences, good common sense, and clearly reported second language acquisition research. In addition to supporting parents who want to bring up their children bilingually, it offers excellent language learning advice to anyone who wants to improve their own proficiency in a new language.