ABSTRACT
Depending on the circumstances of their childhood, people who grew up with two languages will have varying levels of proficiency in their two languages. Some may be native-like in both languages. Others may have one strong language and less knowledge of the other. People who grew up with a passive knowledge of a minority language may find that a visit to the country where the language is spoken can push them to be active speakers. They may find that they know much more of the language than they thought. It is possible for them as adults to improve their language skills. A person with very little knowledge of one of the languages she
heard growing up may want to learn the language as an adult. In some cases such adult learners might find that they can learn to speak the minority language easily and with good pronunciation. All that is needed is an opportunity to develop proficiency and to actually use the language. Those who were active speakers of both languages throughout
childhood and adolescence may be able to use their languages regularly at work or in their spare time. It is easy to let one of the languages fall into disuse if opportunities to use it are not sought out. An account of some of the research into the processes behind the loss of a language is given in Chapter 11.
