Learning to Read and Write in the Multilingual Family

Xiao-lei Wang is Professor and Acting Dean of the School of Education at Pace University, USA. She is the author of Growing up with Three Languages: Birth to Eleven (Multilingual Matters, 2008) and Learning to Read and Write in the Multilingual Family (Multilingual Matters, 2011). She is a regular speaker on child development and parenting at local, national and international parents’ associations and academic conferences.

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!

• Chapter 1: IntroductionChapter 2: Understanding the Multilingual Reading and Writing ProcessChapter 3: The Importance of Active PlanningChapter 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