BASIC-EDUCATION BILINGUALISM

Given the straight relationship which, according to different nationalisms, exists between culture and personality and culture and language, it was given for granted that personality develops by learning the correct use of the mother tongue. This, in itself, is a correct point of view. However, their mistake concerning personal enrichment lied in the fact that, according to their postulates, the introduction of another language at a very early stage and contact with another culture while the individual was developing would damage his harmonious ontogeny. It was not until the second half of the 20th century that educators first became aware that basic-education bilingualism and early contact with other languages strengthen and nourish personal development drastically.