IMPACT FACTORS IN CONTEMPORARY EUROPE FOR MOTHER LANGUAGE ACQUISITION OUTSIDE THE LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENT

The research presents the results of the European project “Leo Effect. Learn from each other effectively” (2013–2015), which involved five schools-participants: “Alliance Russe” (Nice, France), “Centre de développement bilingue LOGOS” (Paris, France), “Centro de Lengua y Cultura Rusa A. Pushkin” (Barselona, Spain), “Multiculturele Stichting “Poesjkin” (Leiden, The Netherland) and “Senter for russisk språk og kultur” (Oslo, Norway). The study aimed at investigating the policy of multilingualism, represented in official documents of the European Union and analyzing actual opportunities for immigrants to study their mother language in Norway, France, the Netherlands and Spain. The research is relevant as it provides a brief overview of the language policy of the European Union, and in particular Norway, France, the Netherlands and Spain, and analyses the existing opportunities for immigrants (or children of immigrants) to learn their native language in a new country of residence. In addition, it presents an analysis of the demand for knowledge of different languages (including Russian) in European countries. Research methods included analysis of the legal documents regulating the language policy, analysis of educational programmes in educational institutions of the country, questionnaires of students from the schools participating in the Leo “Effect. Learn from each other effectively,” monitoring of the labour market for the demand for knowledge of different languages (Russian, in particular). As a result of the project “Leo Effect. Learn from each other effectively” the external factors affecting acquisition of the mother tongue outside the language environment were studied. These factors include: the official language policy of the state governing the teaching of the mother tongue, the existing opportunities for learning the mother tongue in the country, the demand for knowledge of different languages on labor market, and the popularity of a particular language in a particular state. The study showed that the education of a multilingual citizen in Europe is basically a family task. State educational institutions do not provide enough support in the issue of teaching the mother tongue and reading and writing in the mother tongue are usually taught by commercial or non-profit organizations created by the immigrants themselves.