Mirror Of Language

A leading authority on bilingualism challenges the dogma surrounding child and adult language learning, the intellectual and social implications of bilingualism, bilingual education, and other issues

Programs of bilingual education in the United States have always been controversial, involving strong political feelings and heated emotions. Psycholinguist Hakuta provides a scientist's view of the problem as he explores the origins of the controversy, contrasts the views of various researchers, and describes the process of learning a second language. Citing his own research, he compares second-language acquisition in children and adults and analyzes the characteristics of a bilingual community. He concludes that well-developed programs can produce students who retain their original language and master the second, an outcome he deems highly desirable in today's world. While scholarly in approach, this work is readable and will be of interest to educators, psycholinguists, and parents. Shirley L. Hopkinson, Library & Information Science Div., San Jose State Univ., Cal.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.