Polityka edukacyjna w zakresie nauczania języków obcych w wybranych państwach europejskich a doświadczenia rodziców dzieci dwujęzycznych

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present educational policy of the European Union in supporting the teaching of foreign languages in the Member States. Supporting the learning of EU official languages is one of the most important goals of education policy, which are being implemented by the EU institutions. Moreover, investing in language teaching and encouraging EU Member States to participate in various educational programs is also aimed at raising the competences of European citizens and promoting social inclusion. The second part of the article reviews the topic of teaching foreign languages in selected European countries in comparative context. As is clear from the Eurydice reports, in most European countries children learn foreign languages from the early years of primary school, and some even in the kindergarten. At the high school level learning two foreign languages is mandatory. The most widely taught language in European schools is English, followed by French and German. In this article the analysis of subject literature is supported by the results of empirical studies – in-depth interviews conducted with parents of bilingual and multilingual children. The study uses the methodology of qualitative research. Each of the examples discussed is also the description of the different experiences of parents of bilingual/multilingual children, and critically refers to solutions in the educational systems used in various European countries. The conducted interviews show that public school insufficiently supports parents of bilingual/multilingual children. The situation is different in private schools, where children and parents receive comprehensive support for the development of linguistic competences of children.