Crosslinguistic Influence and Crosslinguistic Interaction in Multilingual Language Learning

Description

Which strategies do multilingual learners use when confronted with languages they don't yet know? Which factors are involved in activating prior linguistic knowledge in multilingual learning? This volume offers valuable insights into recent research in multilingualism, crosslinguistic influence and crosslinguistic interaction. Experts in the field examine the role of background languages in multilingual learning. All the chapters point to the heart of the question of what the "multilingual mind" is. Does learning one language actually help you learn another, and if so, why? This volume looks at languages and scenarios beyond English as a second language - Italian, Gaelic, Dutch and German, amongst others, are covered, as well as instances of third and additional language learning. Research into crosslinguistic influence and crosslinguistic interaction essentially contributes to our understanding of how language learning works when there are three or more languages in contact.

Gessica De Angelis is Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Urlike Jessner is Associate Professor at University of Innsbruck, Austria. Marijana Kresic is Associate Professor at University of Zadar, Croatia.

The strength is that the information of the book applies not only to teaching and learning English as is traditionally the case, but to other languages which are taught in many countries in addition to English. This makes the volume very important practically. Dealing with different languages, including languages as different as Dutch, Spanish, Scottish and Italian, rather than only English, it is of value to many places in the world. The collection deepens the topic, focusing on how speakers perceive the closeness between languages. -- Larissa Aronin, Associate Professor, Oranim Academic College, Israel This volume, while remaining all the time true to its theme of crosslinguistic influence and interaction in multilingual learning, offers a quite breathtaking array of engaging perspectives on this theme. The fascinating range of theoretical and methodological treatments and the variety of results and interpretations it presents demonstrate yet again the rich diversity of multilingualism studies, and the way in which a topic like crosslinguistic impact, which was once regarded as straightforward (!), takes on an infinity of complexities in a multilingual context. -- David Singleton, Fellow Emeritus, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland and Professor of Applied Linguistics, University of Pannonia, Veszprem, Hungary