On multilingual awareness or why the multilingual learner is a specific language learner

Abstract

Since interest in research on multilingualism has steadily increased over the last 15 years metalinguistic awareness has been identified as one of the key factors of language learning, in particular in third language learning. Metalinguistic awareness has been studied in disciplines such as language pedagogy, developmental psychology and linguistics. In applied linguistics in the Dynamic Model of Multilingualism (Herdina and Jessner 2002) it has been identified as the most crucial component of the M(ultilingualism)-Factor which is an emergent property of the multilingual system. Hence multilingual awareness can change in dependence on the changing system. Two school context studies at Innsbruck University have focused on the development of multilingual awareness and it was shown that multilingual awareness plays a crucial role in multilingual learning both in primary school children and in older pupils.