The model presented in this volume draws together various strands of research - second language acquisition theory, bilingualism research, dynamic systems theory - to develop a novel approach to this challenging subject. Its main focus lies on the psycholinguistic dynamics of multilingualism, the processes of change in time affecting two or more language systems.

From structure to chaos: twenty years of modeling bilingualism / Diane Larsen-Freeman, Monika S. Schmid and Wander Lowie -- Psycholinguistic perspectives on language processing in bilinguals / Judith Kroll and Daan Hermans -- Triggered codeswitching: evidence from picture naming experiments / Mirjam Broersma -- Working memory capacity, inhibitory control, and proficiency in a second language / Susan Gass and Junkyu Lee -- Explanations of associations between l1 and l2 literacy skills / Jan H. Hulstijn -- The acquisition, attrition, and relearning of mission vocabulary / Lynne Hansen -- Second language attrition: theory, research and challenges / Lelia Murtagh -- Contact X time: external factors and variability in l1 attrition / Monika S. Schmid -- The shifting structure of emotion semantics across immigrant generations: effects of the second culture on the first language / Robert W. Schrauf and Julia Sanchez -- Bilingualism, code-switching and aging: a myth of attrition and a tale of collaboration / Michael Clyne -- Language reversion versus general cognitive decline: towards a new taxonomy of language change in elderly bilingual immigrants / Merel Keijzer -- A dynamic model of expert-novice co-adaptation during language learning and acquisition / Paul van Geert, Henderien Steenbeek and Marijn van Dijk -- The dynamics of multilingualism: Levelt's speaking model revisited / Wander Lowie and Marjolijn Verspoor -- Epilogue: twenty years of modeling bilingualism, from chaos to structure and back again / Bert Weltens

This book looks at changes in the first language of people who know a second language, thus seeing L2 users as people in their own right differing from the monolingual in both first and second languages. It presents theories and research that investigate the first language of second language users from a variety of perspectives including vocabulary, pragmatics, cognition, and syntax and using a variety of linguistic and psychological models.

This book contributes to current issues in TLA and multilingualism research. It discusses multilingual learning and development from a Dynamic Systems Theory perspective. The author argues that trilingual education does not harm or confuse young learners but that the teaching of three languages from an early age carries positive implications for children's linguistic, metalinguistic, and crosslinguistic awareness.

This book addresses the meanings and implications of multilingualism and its uses in a context of rapid changes, in Europe and around the world. All types of organisations, including the political institutions of the European Union, universities and private-sector companies must rise to the many challenges posed by operating in a multilingual environment. This requires them, in particular, to make the best use of speakers’ very diverse linguistic repertoires. The contributions in this volume, which stem from the DYLAN research project financed by the European Commission as part of its Sixth Framework Programme, examine at close range how these repertoires develop, how they change and how actors adapt skilfully the use of their repertoires to different objectives and conditions. These different strategies are also examined in terms of their capacity to ensure efficient and fair communication in a multilingual Europe. Careful observation of actors’ multilingual practices reveals finely tuned communicational strategies drawing on a wide range of different languages, including national languages, minority languages and lingue franche. Understanding these practices, their meaning and their implications, helps to show in what way and under what conditions they are not merely a response to a problem, but an asset for political institutions, universities and business.

Third language acquisition is a common phenomenon, which presents some specific characteristics as compared to second language acquisition. This volume adopts a psycholinguistic approach in the study of cross-linguistic influence in third language acquisition and focuses on the role of previously acquired languages and the conditions that determine their influence.

This book deals with early multilingual acquisition from a holistic, dynamic, and multilingual perspective. It focuses on the analysis of pragmatic awareness and language attitudes of consecutive multilingual children in relation to other variables, such as the linguistic model or the age factor. This volume makes an important contribution to the field, providing evidence for the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism proposed by Herdina and Jessner.