Nowadays, speaking at least one foreign language is inevitable due to globalization and our current lifestyle. Understanding this, it is important that we develop not only communicative, but also plurilingual and pluricultural competencies. These competencies (including one’s communicative competence) aim at a holistic intertwining of different languages and an active understanding of other cultures. According to research into (foreign) language usage, early (foreign) language learning is very important. In addition, parents of young language learners should be aware of the level of their own plurilingual and pluricultural competencies. Also, they should be aware of the importance of developing their children’s plurilingualism and pluriculturalism and creating a stimulating learning environment. This is why we wanted to research the current state of parents’ plurilingual and pluricultural competencies in the Slovenian educational space and their ability to create a stimulating learning environment, thus contributing to new findings in the field of learning and teaching (foreign) languages. At the theoretical starting points, we first presented the main concepts, concerning learning and teaching (foreign) languages. Later, we focused on plurilingual and pluricultural competencies and also on a stimulating learning environment. We described the process of learning (foreign) languages in (early) childhood and presented the role of parents during this process. Our theoretical base was a document entitled Reference Framework for Pluralistic Approaches to Languages and Cultures. In the empirical part, we analysed the current situation, concerning plurilingual and pluricultural competencies of Slovenian parents. According to the collected data, we created a general profile of a Slovenian parent with the highest plurilingual and pluricultural competencies. With the latter (and with the help of the established theoretical literature) we formed general guidelines for creating a stimulating learning environment at home (i. e. outside school). The researchers from the project Languages Matter (JeŠT – Jeziki štejejo) collected the data with an online questionnaire, which contained a questionnaire and two Likert scales. Among others, the parents of school children in the Republic of Slovenia participated in this research. Our research, which was carried on later (for the purposes of analysing the current situation, concerning the plurilingual and pluricultural competencies of Slovenian parents) was based on empirical quantitative research with a descriptive research method.
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