People have strong ideas about children growing up with a second or third language. These ideas influence how they look at other people's children, and influence how professionals such as teachers, doctors, and speech therapists advise parents of children growing up bilingually. This digest seeks to dispel some of the myths about children growing…

The number of languages spoken throughout the world is estimated to be 6,000. Although a small number of languages serve as important link languages or languages of wider communication around the world, these are very often spoken as second, third, fourth, or later-acquired languages. Fewer than 25% of the world's approximately 200 countries…

This book was written for scholars, policymakers, and educators and provides both an introduction to issues in literacy and language diversity and compelling questions for those who work in the field. Based on national data, the extent of language diversity in the United States is explored; what is known about English literacy, native language…