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Celebrating Mul til ingualism(Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2014)*

Chapter 1. Myths about: LANGUAGES in general

Myths Notes:

1. Some languages are easier to learn than others.

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

3. Most of the world is monolingual.

4. Learning a foreign language when you are smallhas 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 beexpressed equally.

7. All languages have the same amount of words(Sapir-Whorf is dead).

Chapter 2. Myths about: AGE and foreign languages

Myths Notes:

8. There is an optimal age for foreign languagelearning

9. It is impossible for an adult to learn a new languageas fast as a child.

10.It is impossible for an adult to learn a new languagewithout an accent.

11.Only really young children can learn foreignlanguages

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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 Notes:

14.A bilingual child will always have identityproblems 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 weakerlanguage 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 makeexcellent translators.

20.Bilinguals are more creative than monolinguals.

Chapter 4. Myths about: INTELLIGENCE and foreign languages

Myths Notes:

21.By learning more than one language a child cansufferbrain overload.

22.Bilingual students have lower results on English-language proficiency tests than their Anglophone,

monolingual peers.

23.Bilinguals have worse executive functions thanmonolinguals.

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24.Bilinguals have poorer working memory thanmonolinguals.

25.Bilinguals have less cognitive flexibility thanmonolinguals.

26.Bilinguals have lower inhibitory control thanmonolinguals.

27.Bilingualism reduces in emotional intelligence.

Chapter 5. Myths about: The INFLUENCES on foreign language EASE of learning

Myths Notes:

28.The quality of the first language impacts the qualityof the second language, and the quality of the thirdlanguage depends on the quality of the second

language.

29.A child should first study his native language, andafter he has mastered this, then learn a new one.

30.A child who learns two languages simultaneouslywill be confused and have lower intelligence.

31.Language learning is independent of home, socialinfluences, and culture.

32.There is no such thing as an aptitude for foreignlanguages.

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 takeyears to learn another languages.

Chapter 6. Myths about: TEACHING AND LEARNING IN foreign languages

Myths Notes:

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35.Resistance to foreign languages is purelypsychological.

36.You can learn a foreign language throughtechnology.

37.Skill order (Listening [comprehension], Speaking,Reading and Writing) in unimportant in successful

language learning; these skills can be learned in anyorder equally successfully.

38.Understanding and Speaking are equally asdifficult as Reading and Writing (in first, second

or subsequent languages).

39.Teachers and learners share the same criteria aboutgood foreign language teaching.

40.Non-verbal communication is less important inforeign language learning than in first language

communication.

41.Discovery learning is better than explicit instructionin foreign languages; authentic learning is only

important in monolingual settings.

Chapter 7. Myths about: LANGUAGE PROBLEMS RELATED TO FOREIGN LANGUAGEACQUISITION

Myths Notes:

42.Bilingualism can cause problems such as stutteringand dyslexia.

43.True bilinguals never confuse their languages; ifthey do, they are actually semi-linguals.

44.Learning problems like retardation are exacerbatedby bilingualism.

45.Monolingual and bilingual brains are the same.

*Also see: Harvard lecture on Bilingualism and Multilingualism, Jan 2013 (Tokuhama-

Espinosa) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=420EHD4TfOU