REVIEW OF (CRITICAL) LITERATURE ABOUT BILINGUALISM

Abstract

The topic of bilingualism has always been an object of interest in linguistic circles, especially today in the time of globalisation or the “third epoch”, when borders of states haven’t always implied the boundary of the use of a particular language. In addition to the fact that research on this phenomenon covers a wide range of hypotheses and perspectives from which bilingualism is analysed, it increasingly involves developing countries, multicultural and multilingual environments. Numerous scientists have investigated the process of first and second language acquisition, some have observed in which environments and under what conditions bilingualism occurs, and this group includes scientists who have done research on bilingual children in the school system whose attitudes will be stated in this paper.

This work provides an overview of the basic conclusions from theoretical and empirical studies on the topic of bilingualism, through a review of research in which attention is drawn to the traditionally neglected or insufficiently explored extralinguistic factors and their influence on the development or obstruction of bilingualism. The aim is to come to a conclusion about the different competences of bilingual children and the conditions that affect the development of bilingualism in early childhood and in children of school age. Some of the definitions of bilingualism are primarily listed, then the functions of language as well as the relationship between the first and second languages, the influence of parents and culture on the early development of bilingualism are explained. In the final part of the paper, practical advice for helping bilingual children is given, based on a literature review on this topic. Therefore, we conclude that the article discusses current and scientifically relevant issues: types of bilingualism, as well as its socio-pedagogical implications.