Learning to be Literate

What makes this book unique? Its simplicity and erudition, enabling readers to gain basic understandings of the power of literacy, while familiarizing them with an impressive array of multilingual contexts both globally and locally. Spanning literacy in multilingual families, communities and schools, the book blends the scholarship on literacy, multilingualism and multiliteracies, providing fresh perspectives of how to empower children, teachers, parents and communities in multilingual contexts.

-- Ofelia García, Graduate Center, City University of New York

This volume offers a comprehensive, accessible overview of bilingualism, biliteracy, and language education around the world with attention to the broad sweep and the defining details. Edwards skillfully joins research summary with case studies—stories that demonstrate the wide range of meanings and practices associated with reading, drawn from her own experience and scholarly pursuits. The book neither dwells on nor ignores the various 'wars' and disagreements in the field but rather sketches the contexts in which they arose, their theoretical bases, and implications for instruction. The book is well-suited for use as a textbook, with its list of key points at the end of each chapter and carefully chosen resources. But it also serves as a nicely readable overview for those who need an update.

-- Carolyn Temple Adger, Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, DC, USA

This is a unique and exceptional book which will be invaluable for professionals working with bi-and multilingual children and their families in educational settings. The inclusion of activities and discussion points at the end of each chapter makes the book ideal for core reading at both undergraduate and postgraduate level as well as for professional development courses.

-- Eve Gregory, Professor of Language and Culture in Education and Head of the Centre for Language, Culture and Learning, Goldsmiths, University of London.

"Learning to be Literate" is a very accessible textbook that introduces its readers to issues of multilingualism, literacy education, and multilingual literacies from various perspectives. The author does not limit her coverage to multiliteracy in English-speaking countries, but instead draws on multilingual settings and case studies from all over the world. Primarily the book is intended to serve as an introductory text for courses on literacy education, aimed at undergraduates and postgraduate students from a wide range of disciplines. In addition, it provides an easy-to-read summary of the field of multilingual literacy education for practitioners, educators and policy makers.

-- Susanne R. Borgwaldt, TU Braunschweig, Germany * Written Language & Literacy 15:1 (2012), 145-1