Minority language and education

This paper presents the results of a case-study of one generation of pupils (n=121) who have been educated at the elementary bilingual Slovene-Hungarian school in the ethnically mixed region of Slovenia. The study focuses in particular on the success of our bilingual type of education with respect to continuation of schooling and continuation of learning the minority language - in this case, Hungarian. Successful learning of the minority language at all levels of education provides the basis for the development of bilingualism on the individual and social level. The results of our case-study cannot be generalized to all the population because the sample is undoubtedly too small. Nevertheless, such a selected portion of a particular social dimension can serve to indicate some facts and to draw attention to changes in the ethnically mixed surroundings. It can also provide an empirical basis for developing theoretical concepts and hypotheses.