Multilingual Academic Journal of Education and Social Sciences

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Multilingualism in the Cypriot Educational System: A Record of Primary School Students’ Views and Attitudes

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The present study was conducted with the aim to provide an account of primary school students’ attitudes and views on issues related to English language learning and multilingual learning in the Cypriot Educational System. The stimulus for conducting the study can be identified in current EU multilingual policy, the spread of English world-wide, and the changing status of English within Europe, along with the scarcity of research concerning students’ views and preferences in the Cypriot context. In particular, the study aimed at:
a. identifying primary school students’ attitudes towards English and other European Languages
b. identifying their perceptions of early foreign language learning
c. identifying their attitudes towards Turkish language
d. specifying their perceptions of issues on multilingual education.
In total 1265 Cypriot students of 5th and 6th primary school grades participated in the study, which was conducted in the academic year 2010–2011. The research project utilised a questionnaire as a basic instrument to collect information from primary students. The findings indicated that the majority of the students acknowledged the dominant role of the English language and showed a positive attitude towards early language learning. Although they highlighted their enthusiasm for acquiring multilingual competence in ‘strong’ European languages, they expressed their unwillingness to learn Turkish language. Concluding, it is suggested that, despite the dominant role of English language, every effort should be made towards adopting educational policies and practices which support and foster multilingualism.
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In-Text Citation: (Panteli et al., 2013)
To Cite this Article: Panteli, P., Griva, E., & Tsakiridou, E. (2013). Multilingualism in the Cypriot Educational System: A Record of Primary School Students’ Views and Attitudes. Multilingual Academic Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 1(1), 19–38.