Changes in language identity of bilingual students (Russian-Estonian bilingualism) at Estonian-medium schools under the influence of the language situation

Introduction. The article studies how the current language situation in Estonia has influenced language identity of bilingual students (Russian-Estonian bilingualism) at Estonian-medium schools. The aim of the article is to reveal the changes which have taken place in the linguistic identity and language development of bilingual students for the recent 10 years. Materials and Methods. The main research methods are questionnaire survey, comparative analysis of the obtained data, and their statistic processing. Google Forms and Google Sheets have been used as instruments for automatization. Results. The research findings indicate the changes which have occurred in bilingual students’ language identity for the last 10 years influenced by the contemporary language situation. Conclusions. The article concludes that the spheres of the Russian language functioning have decreased among the target group of students. Russian is mainly used in everyday life. However, the use of written Russian has extended.