Becoming Bilingual: A Guide to Language Learning

"This book, originally published by the William Carey Library in 1972, combines the linguist's analysis of language structures, the anthropologist's perspectives on societies, and the learner's need for an integrated, logical approach to a very complex task. Author Biography: Donald N. Larson is Professor of Linguistics at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota. William A. Smalley is Professor of Linguistics at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota." "I read the book many years ago when it first came out and think it is an excellent help for anyone interested in language learning.... this reissuing by your publishing house is sincerely welcomed. --Thomas Scovel" "Becoming bilingual as defined in this book is a process by which an adult acquires an additional language in the environment in which it is spoken, surrounded by the culture in which it is used. The book seeks to present the learner with an integrated and systematic treatment of his task--linguistic, cultural, and practical--in learning a new language abroad. The authors believe that habit formation and practice have important roles in the language learning process. Cultural alienation is seen as the primary problem in living abroad, and learning the local language is a major factor in adjustment to new surroundings. The book covers such topics as motivation, language learning, programs, opportunities, techniques for learning a language, and widening one's range of communication. (VM)" "However it may be, the authors have put together 426 pages of general background information, useful hints and anecdotes about learning a second language. The main purpose of the book, according to Larson and Smalley, is to introduce the expatriate living and working abroad to ways of undertaking the study of the language being spoken around him. Actually, the book is more of a manual to sensitize the American living abroad to the cultures and languages of those with whom he must interact. There are four parts to the book. Part one highlights the learner’s personal involvement with language through all of his life activities. Part two takes up the various programs of language instruction, going from the typical to the ideal ones. Part three covers the techniques and practices in second language learning, and is the most extensive section of the book. In the fourth and final part, the authors go into dialects, stylistic variation, and the subtleties of translation."