BILINGUALISM, AN IMPERATIVE OF THE ACADEMIC NARRATIVE
BILINGUALISM, AN IMPERATIVE OF THE ACADEMIC NARRATIVE

Summary/Abstract: The paper explored the topic of bilingualism regarding its conceptual variety, explanatory models, existing forms and educational implications. As it is considered an imperative in various multicultural settings, the study looked to examine the implications of being bilingual, and also to underly the advantages and disadvantages of speaking and understanding two or more languages. Given that previous scientific literature has found both positive and negative effects of bilingualism on the cognitive development of individuals, the authors' aim was to identify the different meanings of bilingualism, and based on this to decipher the mechanisms, determinants, and the facilitating conditions by which different degrees of bilingualism are developed. The current study tried to reveal the different facets of bilingualism, assuming the existence of sometimes contradictory, other times complementary conceptual approaches that make understanding such a phenomenon more challenging.

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