In conducting this study, it has been the aim to promote the case for a bilingual education system. The notion behind this developed from an awareness of recent thought on language acquisition and from experience on teaching practice of the benefits to be reaped from activity-based learning as opposed to grammar-based or form-focused approaches. In section one, a variety of different approaches to language learning is examined and evidence included to highlight the pros and cons of each approach. The second section looks at approaches to bilingual education in Canada, Wales and Scotland. The Canadian element is included as it coincides with the author's experience of teaching English in Québec. Scottish bilingual education, it has been suggested, follows the Welsh system, although my reading and observation tend to contradict this notion, showing both similarities and differences in each of the three systems. The final section examines possible developments in bilingual education in this country and in Lothian Region.