The research on language dynamics in the context of migration and integration has been dominated by applied linguists and educators, who described and measured native language attrition and emerging bilingualism among immigrants and their children. In parallel, sociolinguists discussed the role of language ideology/policy of the host society and…

The Soviet Union (USSR) is an immense multinational and multilingual country. At the time of the Revolution (1917) there were 150 national languages spoken in the USSR and 180 recognized linguistic groups, however, 70% of the total population of the USSR was illiterate and the literacy rate of the Middle Asia varied from 1% to 5%. After 1917, mass…

Language questions are increasingly on the agenda in Europe. This paper addresses some problematic aspects of language teaching and learning that have come to the fore in the Baltic states after the European Union enlargement of 2004. First, the paper aims at providing relevant information about language policies in the former USSR and the…

The state of the art of bilingual education in the Soviet Union is surveyed. The social context of Soviet bilingualism is discussed with reference to sources of heterogeneity, modernization as a motivating factor, political dimensions, and Soviet bases of research. The sociolinguistic paradigm of Soviet society is viewed as a function of the need…