In this book the authors decry the creation of a version of Canadian identity that actively discourages the cultivation of many of its citizens' languages.
If multilingualism is regarded as a valuable asset both for the individual and for society, then why do so many Canadians vehemently oppose the teaching of heritage languages? Why do many parents who demand that their children be given the opportunity to become bilingual in French and English protest angrily at the fact that their tax dollars are being used to teach the languages of immigrant children? Why is it appropriate to promote multilingualism in private schools but not in the public school system? Is multilingualism good for the rich but bad for the poor?
Heritage Languages examines the difficulties experienced integrating heritage languages into official curricula, and the successful efforts to teach Ukrainian, Italian, Hebrew, ASL, Portuguese and Punjabi in Canadian classrooms.
An Our Schools/Our Selves book.

JIM CUMMINS is a professor in the Modern Language Centre at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

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MARCEL DANESI teaches on the history of puzzles at Victoria College of the University of Toronto. Danesi has written puzzles for Reader’s Digest, The Toronto Star, and also maintains a blog on puzzles for Psychology Today. He has also published several best-selling puzzle books, such as The Total Brain Workout and The Complete Brain Workout.

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