Being / becoming bilingual: the role of family and school in maintaining/ developing children’s bilingualism

 This paper aims at reviewing literature regarding bilingualism, presenting some definitions in the field, specially highlighting the idea that this definition is linked to the question “In what degree is the individual bilingual?”. It will evidence the different ways of acquisition and the role family and school play in developing/ maintaining the children’s bilingualism. Therefore, attention will be given to the bilingual individual’s languages and their classification in relation to the concepts of mother language and second language. Finally, the role of education and the need to develop linguistic consciousness in the students will be discussed highlighting the importance of turning learners into individuals without linguistic prejudice and critic in relation to the role of languages in the society.