In 2014, the Faculty of Education at the University of Málaga offered for the first time in its history a Bilingual Education programme for those students taking their Degree in Primary Education. Because of the documented evidence that significant (cognitive, social, personal, academic, and professional) pay-offs derived from bilingualism, the interest to keep this project thriving and successful was enormous. A call was made in advance for those Lecturers and Professors wishing to become active part in this exciting challenge.
Unsurprisingly, bilingual education can take different forms [“the type of bilingual education programme should be chosen with the needs of specific students in mind” (Horwitz, 2005, p. 27)] given that it should be linked to the sociolinguistic context in which it takes place. The lack of consistency in the use of this term is one of the major problems when evaluating its success; in fact: “Bilingual education has come to mean many things to many people” (Rossell & Baker, 1996, p. 185). Though initially one might think that at least a clear definition of the exact kind of bilingualism to pursue should be given, that the (human and/or material) resources to count with should be carefully analysed or that the methodology for the teaching of the non-linguistic subjects should be agreed in a consensual manner and that teachers should receive proper training accordingly, this might not be always the case.
After having implemented this programme for two years now, questionnaires have been passed to students and interviews have been conducted so as to assess their perceived improvement in their L2 competence and to know whether their initial expectations have been met. Manifold insights have been gained, particularly regarding those teaching strategies and techniques that students have found particularly helpful, and also concerning the several issues still unresolved. We will present the results of our survey in this study.
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