Overview

"The divergence in attitudes to the degree of bilingualism that can be achieved through the ""one parent-one language"" approach is striking. On the one hand, it is claimed that children can acquire two languages simultaneously as a matter of course of being exposed to them and, on the other hand, there are parents who report that their children never progressed past a limited amount of actively used words and a set number of rehearsed phrases in the minority language. The aim of this study is to analyze this discrepancy more closely. In the first chapter, the theoretical framework and the hypotheses underlying the study are presented. The book then offers an account of an empirical investigation of the degree of bilingualism in six German-English families who employ the ""one parent-one language"" principle. It describes the collection and processing of the data and analyzes the children's proficiency in German. The parents are compared with respect to the linguistic input they provided, which is discussed in relation to the children's proficiency in German; the language environment is examined on a macrolevel (parents' attitude to bilingualism, extent of contact with German). The main body of the study consists of an analysis of the discourse structures each parent is engaged in, with special emphasis on the teaching methods the parents employed. The concluding chapter also presents a follow-up of the children's further development in German."

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9789027241030

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