THE IMPORTANCE OF BILINGUALISM IN THE PRIMARY CLASSROOM

The main purpose of this study was to give account of the importance of early bilingualism in the primary classroom and to ascertain if being bilingual from an early age is an advantage or a hindrance. In the context researched here (Primary school teachers and Primary trainee teachers in England), the paper seeks to determine how early bilingualism has influenced the respondents’ education, career choices and overall learning and teaching experience at school. Action research was used in this study. The key findings concluded that early bilingualism has impacted positively on the respondents’ education and life choices and that being bilingual from an early age is an advantage. On the other hand, there are some negative influences,but they are outweighed by the benefits that knowledge of home languages bring. It is hoped thatthis study will encourage primary teachers, trainee teachers and parents to look at bilingualism as an opportunity and utilise bilingual learners’ linguistic and cultural knowledge in order to create an environment where students and teachers have the opportunity to learn and develop together.