THEORETICAL BASIS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN THE MULTICULTURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE USA

The article examines the theoretical foundations of the development of bilingual education in the USA. The essence of the concept of «bilingual education» and other related concepts related to the field of bilingualism are revealed. The author introduces the leading ideals of the American philosophy of education, trends, and fundamental principles of the development of bilingual education. The author emphasizes that bilingual education in the USA is quite developed. Many foreign scholars have studied bilingual education in the United States. The most authoritative of them are K. Baker, C. Price-Jones, O. Garcia, J. Cummins, and others. The basis of bilingual education is the theory of constructivism, which is based on the study of the experience of the natural acquisition of a second language. Based on research, its authors concluded that the main principle of learning a second language is the principle of using the skills acquired when learning the first (native) language, which serves as the basis for learning the second. The author assures that during the past ten years of practicing bilingual education in the USA, the country has gained a lot of experience which is a good example for other multicultural states, in particular Ukraine.