Bilingualism Challenges in HEUROPA

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a survey on bilingual language learning. The survey was aimed at Czech, Polish and Lithuanian parents and teachers of bilingual children living in the surrounding cultures of Germany, France and Great Britain. The study was conducted to gain insights into the bilingual language acquisition process and specific language learning problems of the target group in order to develop tailor-made teaching and learning materials that will be accessible via an online-platform. Following an introduction on bilingualism and factors that influence its development, this paper summarises the survey's findings, e.g. the motivation for children and parents to learn the language of the country of origin, speaking and code-switching habits, language acquisition methods and specific language difficulties of the target group.