Speaker
Description
Multilingualism - the ability to speak and understand more than one language - is increasingly recognized as a common phenomenon worldwide (Haukås et al. 2024). In Austria, 90% of 25- to 35-year-olds reported the ability to speak at least one foreign language in 2016 (Eurostat 2018). While research shows that (pre-service) teachers in Austria often hold positive beliefs about multilingualism (Portolés & Martí 2018), little is known about the general public’s beliefs about the benefits of multilingualism or how these beliefs vary with individual factors. This study aims to address this research gap by examining beliefs about the benefits of multilingualism in Austria and exploring associations with individual factors such as age, gender, education level, political views, migration background and level of openness. A total of 1500 participants (age between 18 to 99) will complete a five to ten minutes online survey. This survey will collect sociodemographic data, language backgrounds, and the German translations of the beliefs about multilingualism questionnaire (BAM; Haukas et al. 2021) and the Open Mindedness Questionnaire (OPM; Haukas et al. 2021). Data collection will start in October, and preliminary statistics and results will be presented. Understanding how Austrians view the benefits of multilingualism and how these views vary by age, gender, education, political orientation, migration background, or openness could inform evidence-based language education policies and public outreach in Austria.