Bilingualism and Multilingualism as Means of Socio-Psychological Adaptation of the Students of Higher Educational Institutions

The phenomenon of the use of one or more languages has been observed for a long time and is increasing in recent years due to the rapidly developing intercultural and interethnic relations, the spread of mass communication. In the Chuvash Republic, the Chuvash language is the state language, along with Russian. Chuvash families, especially those that do not live in the administrative centers, speak their native language at home, sometimes combining it with the Russian one. Few representatives of other nationalities (Tatars, Mordvins, Bashkirs, Armenians...) communicate at home in their native and Russian languages. Thus, an interesting variety of languages used in speech is clearly expressed in Chuvashia, especially in rural areas. Modern migration processes affect the social and psychological adaptation of people. The problem of our research is to determine the impact of bilingualism and multiligualism on the socio-psychological adaptation of students in higher educational institutions. The aim of our study is to establish a correlation between the indicators of the number of languages spoken by a student and his/her ability to social and psychological adaptation. To achieve the goal, we used the complex of the following methods of investigation: the study of the scientific and methodological literature on the problem of research, the observation, conversations, the use the questionnaire to diagnose the socio-psychological adaptation of students and the mathematical methods of the analysis of the results.The experimental study was conducted with the students of the faculty of foreign languages and psycho-pedagogical faculty of the Chuvash State Pedagogical University named after I. Ya. Yakovlev. Results. The obtained data indicate that the students of both faculties have a high level of indicators on the following scales: adaptability, acceptance of themselves and acceptance of others. General indicators on each scale show that students of the faculty of foreign languages have a higher level of social and psychological adaptation. We used the r-Spearman correlation coefficient to determine the dependence. There is a significant correlation between some indicators of social and psychological adaptation of students of the faculty of foreign languages and the number of languages they speak. They know more than three languages, adapt easier and faster in a foreign environment than the students of psycho-pedagogical faculty.In some cases the students of the psycho-pedagogical faculty show low self-esteem, often dissatisfied with their appearance, insecure, anxious, and dissatisfied with themselves. The experimental study confirmed the theoretical and practical justification of the influence of bilingualism and multilingualism on the socio-psychological adaptation of students. Perceiving information in two or more languages, they are more savvy in terms of forming a linguistic picture of the world. Bilingualism and multilingualism have a positive impact on the ability to analyze and understand the phenomena of a language. They develop memory, mathematical abilities, logic, intelligence, speed of reaction. The more languages a person knows, the higher the level of adaptation in the new language environment.