The influence of plurilingual education on child development

HAMERS, Josiane F.

Publication year:

2000

Publication place:

Donostia-San Sebastián

ISBN:

84-8419-984-3

ISSN:

1137-4446

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Summary

The state of the art on bilingual development and its consequences for the child´s cognitive development are first reviewed. The conditions necessary for the child to develop an additive form of bilinguality are further discussed. A social psychological theoretical model of bilinguality based on additive and subtractive distinction is proposed. The central role played by social factors in bilingual development and education is highlighted with a particular insistence on the mother tongue valorisation processes, both at the individual and at the societal level.