On the dynamics of early multilingualism : a psycholinguistic study / Barbara Hofer.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 205-228) and index.

This book contributes to current issues in TLA and multilingualism research. It discusses multilingual learning and development from a Dynamic Systems Theory perspective. The author argues that trilingual education does not harm or confuse young learners but that the teaching of three languages from an early age carries positive implications for children's linguistic, metalinguistic, and crosslinguistic awareness.

Frontmatter -- Table of contents -- Acknowledgments -- List of figures -- Preface -- I. Theoretical Background: Theoretical underpinnings in early multilingual instruction -- 1. An Introduction to Multilingualism -- 2. The representation of language in the mind -- 3. Language processing -- 4. Developmental models of second and third language learning -- 5. Memory, monitoring and fluency -- 6. Multiple language acquisition in children -- 7. Multilingual proficiency -- 8. Multilingual learning in the classroom -- 9. Multilingual awareness -- II. A South Tyrol case study: Experimental findings in a multilingual setting -- 10. The aim of the study -- 11. Historical background -- 12. The sociolinguistic context: Language education in a bi/trilingual community -- 13. Multilingual educational programmes In South Tyrol -- 14. Research questions and hypotheses -- 15. Participants -- 16. Theoretical and methodological framework and study design -- 17. Data collection procedure and test administration -- 18. Scoring -- 19. Analysis and results -- 20. Some of the things multilingual children do -- 21. Reconceptualising language learning and teaching in South Tyrol. Final recommendations. -- 22. Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index

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