09 – Bilingual Mythbusting – Marilyn Vihman

Masters of TESOL

Content provided by Andrew Bailey. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Andrew Bailey or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

10y ago

MP3•Episode home

http://traffic.libsyn.com/mastersoftesol/09_-_Bilingual_Mythbusting_-_Marilyn_Vihman.mp3

Subscribe on iTunes

Follow me on Twitter – @MOTcast

To a monolingual, being bilingual or multilingual seems magical. More than one language in one head – no one can live at that speed! As a result, some unusual misconceptions have grown around linguistic phenomena that, globally, is far more common than speaking a single language.

Marilyin Vihman has significant experience in bilingualism both personally and academically. In this episode, recorded in her office at the University of York, we look at some of the myths about bilingual development and which are outright wrong and which lean closer to the truth than others.

The myths we bust – or, in some cases, bruise – are:

Bilinguals are two monolinguals in one head
Bilinguals start to speak later than monolinguals
Babies soak up languages like sponges
Some languages are more primitive than others, so are easier to learn
English is widely spoken (as a second language) because it has less grammar
Parents pass on mistakes and non-native accents to their children
There’s one right way to raise a bilingual child

(Adapted from Pearson (2008))

Marilyn Vihman at University of York

25 episodes

#Higher Education #School Education #TESL #English #Teaching #Second #Language #Development #Andrew Bailey #Masters #Learning English #Podcasting Education #Language Learning #TESOL #ESL #EFL