- Home
- Study book
- Week 1: Introduction to multilingualism and plurilingualism
- Week 2: Understanding bilingualism
- Week 3: Multilingualism in state and society, and the role of communities
- Week 4: Early Childhood Multilingualism
- Week 5: Multilingual school
- Week 6: Multilingual higher education
- Week 7: Interculturalism and intercultural communication
- Course team
MOOC: Multilingual Education
Week 2: Understanding bilingualism
In Week 2 you will acquire a deeper understanding of the phenomenon of bilingualism and its multifaceted and dynamic nature. You will become acquainted with the standards defining different levels of bilingualism and the factors shaping the various forms that bilingualism can take. You will thus gain a deeper insight into how the age at which one learns a further language, the status that different languages enjoy in a community and the functions fulfilled by these languages affect and determine the multiple categories of bilingualism.
How does one become bilingual? What are the functional and status-bound relations between the languages spoken by bilinguals in a given society? What are the most frequently voiced reservations about bilingualism? What do we learn from the recent research regarding benefits of bi- and plurilingualism? These questions will be addressed in this week.