Bilingual Education as a Way to Develop Students' Professional Competencies

The attitude towards bilingualism in education has completely changed in the contemporary period. The current study shows that bilingualism has a clear advantage, as cumulative research data conducted over the past three decades in various locations around the world shows that people who can develop their linguistic potential receive cognitive, social, personal and economic benefits. In addition to linguistic, academic and cognitive outcomes, bilingual education promotes the absence of prejudice and acceptance of cultural diversity. At the same time, the issue of the development of professional, communicative and intercultural competencies and autonomy in the context of learning in several languages remains a rather acute topic. However, contrary to the concerns expressed due to higher cognitive requirements in bilingual programs, these problems are solved by effective teaching methods and curricula. The quality of teaching is another objective that the educational reform program is aimed at, and quality teaching will be crucial for the success of bilingual education. In addition, the development of appropriate complex and contextualized curricula for both languages is also crucial. It is these two aspects that will be discussed in detail in this article.