Peculiarities of Self-Attitude and Value Orientations in the Structure of the Self-Concept of a Bilingual Person

Abstract

The article presents the results of an empirical study of self-attitude and value orientations of bilingual personality. We assume that bilinguals’ self-attitude and value orientations (being the most important characteristics of the self-concept) should have psychological peculiarities and differences from the self-attitude and value system of monolinguals. The sample included bilingual and monolingual teachers working in the universities of Irkutsk (N = 180) aged from 35 to 65. The teachers were asked to answer the following tests: S. Schwartz’s «Value Orientations questionnaire», V.V. Stolin’s and S.R. Panteleev’s «Self-attitude Questionnaire». Student’s t-test was used to interpret the results of the research. As a result of the study, such features of the self-attitude of a bilingual person as greater self-confidence, a better understanding of oneself, a more positive attitude towards one's own self, a greater interest in one's own «I», a sense of the value of one's own personality, greater self-acceptance were revealed. Such values as self-discipline, traditions, friendship, social well-being, tolerance, achievements, striving for cooperation, social relations, identification with the group, justice and equality, mastering new knowledge, creative activity are of great importance for the bilinguals.