Abstract

In this monograph, Anatoliy V. Kharkhurin presents the results of his empirical investigation into the impact of multilingual practice on an individual's creative potential. Until now, the relationship between these two activities has received little attention in the academic community. The book makes an attempt to resuscitate this theme and provides a solid theoretical framework supported by contemporary empirical research conducted in a variety of geographic, linguistic, and sociocultural locations. This study demonstrates that several factors - such as the multilinguals' age of language acquisition, proficiency in these languages and experience with cultural settings in which these languages were acquired - have a positive impact on selective attention and language mediated concept activation mechanisms. Together, these facilitate generative and innovative capacities of creative thinking. This book will be of great interest not only to scholars in the fields of multilingualism and creativity, but also to educators and all those interested in enhancing foreign language learning and fostering creativity.

Anatoliy V. Kharkhurin is Associate Professor of Psychology at American University of Sharjah. His research focuses mainly on the relationship between multilingualism and creativity, but also includes encoding in multilingual language perception and production, and cognitive and sociocultural aspects of creativity. His work has appeared in several edited volumes and scientific journals. Currently, he is developing a new Bilingual Creative Education program that combines foreign language learning and creativity fostering techniques in a unified curricular approach.

Dr. Kharkhurin has provided a strong overview of the theoretical and empirical claims that have been published and thought about in the areas of multilingualism and creativity, and he has done so expertly against a backdrop of the importance of these themes to pedagogy, educational applications, and the emerging field of creativity and bilingual/multilingual cognition. This book should be the 'first stop' for anyone who wishes to embark on this most interesting field of research and inquiry.

Creativity, an essential 21st century competency, and multilingualism, a core characteristic of modern social reality, begin to reveal their fundamental connections through Kharkhurin's analysis. The research reported explores the cognitive mechanisms and developmental issues, while respecting the cultural complexity of the phenomena and offering clear educational perspectives. Regardless of one's mother tongue, readers will find this book a fascinating, well-documented and insightful view of the ways that bilingualism and multilingualism contribute to creative thinking.

There are books on multilingualism, and there are books on creativity, but this is the first book on multilingualism and creativity. Anatoliy Kharkhurin does a masterful job at bringing together these two fields in a comprehensive review that will hold the interest of both a novice student and a seasoned scientist.

This book is a ground-breaking contribution to the fields of multilingualism and creative cognition.