Celebrating Multilingualism (Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2014)* Chapter 1. Myths about: LANGUAGES in general Myths 1.

Some languages are easier to learn than others. Notes:

2. The more languages you know, the easier it gets to learn an additional one.

3. Most of the world is monolingual.

4. Learning a foreign language when you are small has a cost of not learning other things because there is only so much time to devote to learning in a day.

5. Some languages are more important than others.

6. Independent of the language, thoughts can be expressed equally. 7. All languages have the same amount of words (Sapir-Whorf is dead). Chapter 2. Myths about: AGE and foreign languages Myths 8. There is an optimal age for foreign language learning 9. It is impossible for an adult to learn a new language as fast as a child. 10. It is impossible for an adult to learn a new language without an accent. 11. Only really young children can learn foreign languages Notes:

12. Older people can never become fully bilingual. 13. A nine-year-old has the same size brain as an adult; therefore they learn foreign languages in the same way. Chapter 3. Myths about: IDENTIT/PERSONALITY and foreign language Myths 14. A bilingual child will always have identity problems and feel a lack of belonging to his cultures because he will never fully be a part of either. 15. Bilinguals tend to translate from the weaker language to the stronger. 16. True bilinguals never mix their languages. 17. Bilinguals have split personalities. 18. The ability to learn a foreign language is directly related to the level of intelligence of an individual. 19. All people who are bilingual from birth make excellent translators. 20. Bilinguals are more creative than monolinguals. Chapter 4. Myths about: INTELLIGENCE and foreign languages Myths 21. By learning more than one language a child can suffer brain overload. 22. Bilingual students have lower results on Englishlanguage proficiency tests than their Anglophone, monolingual peers. 23. Bilinguals have worse executive functions than monolinguals. Notes: Notes:

24. Bilinguals have poorer working memory than monolinguals. 25. Bilinguals have less cognitive flexibility than monolinguals. 26. Bilinguals have lower inhibitory control than monolinguals. 27. Bilingualism reduces in emotional intelligence. Chapter 5. Myths about: The INFLUENCES on foreign language EASE of learning Myths 28. The quality of the first language impacts the quality of the second language, and the quality of the third language depends on the quality of the second language. 29. A child should first study his native language, and after he has mastered this, then learn a new one. 30. A child who learns two languages simultaneously will be confused and have lower intelligence. 31. Language learning is independent of home, social influences, and culture. 32. There is no such thing as an aptitude for foreign languages. 33. All foreign languages are equally hard to learn. 34. There are some language programs that can actually teach foreign languages in a matter of weeks or even days. This means there is no reason, except for lack of motivation that many people take years to learn another languages. Chapter 6. Myths about: TEACHING AND LEARNING IN foreign languages Myths Notes: Notes:

35. Resistance to foreign languages is purely psychological. 36. You can learn a foreign language through technology. 37. Skill order (Listening [comprehension], Speaking, Reading and Writing) in unimportant in successful language learning; these skills can be learned in any order equally successfully. 38. Understanding and Speaking are equally as difficult as Reading and Writing (in first, second or subsequent languages). 39. Teachers and learners share the same criteria about good foreign language teaching. 40. Non-verbal communication is less important in foreign language learning than in first language communication. 41. Discovery learning is better than explicit instruction in foreign languages; authentic learning is only important in monolingual settings. Chapter 7. Myths about: LANGUAGE PROBLEMS RELATED TO FOREIGN LANGUAGE ACQUISITION Myths 42. Bilingualism can cause problems such as stuttering and dyslexia. 43. True bilinguals never confuse their languages; if they do, they are actually semi-linguals. 44. Learning problems like retardation are exacerbated by bilingualism. 45. Monolingual and bilingual brains are the same. Notes:

*Also see: Harvard lecture on Bilingualism and Multilingualism, Jan 2013 (TokuhamaEspinosa) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=420EHD4TfOU