The recent announcement that Chinese would now be taught in Omani public schools serves as a reminder of the benefits of multilingualism in the 21st century.
Research has shown that knowledge, if not mastery of different languages, fulfils educational, professional, cognitive and cultural goals.
It is not a surprise that multilingual children often achieve higher scores compared to monolingual learners in many areas. This is because they are able to navigate across different grammatical structures and have a large vocabulary which they can use separately, or interchangeably.
In the United States, children from English-only schools do not perform as well as new immigrants who have access to at least one more language at their disposal.
Individuals who are fluent in more than one or two languages also have a larger and faster cognition capacity. They are able to switch from one task to another with ease, are creative in finding solutions to problems and are better able to negotiate between different abstract ideas. Polyglots, by definition, have better social connection skills, are able to multitask and think outside the box.
In fact, multilingual persons seem to face Alzheimer’s and other cognition related problems at a much later stage. This is because they take recourse to what is called their ‘cognitive reserve’ in the form of multiple languages and systems of thought.
A 2007 paper published in Toronto found that bilingual speakers developed symptoms of dementia at least four year after those who were monolingual, although findings on this are not conclusive.
Of course, the ability to operate in various languages offers wider professional opportunities in multiple sectors. This is true in professions ranging from tourism and hospitality to the diplomatic service and other governmental bodies.
While we may not be able to quantify it, knowing other languages creates a better awareness of other cultures, people and societies. It helps us to understand and appreciate other cultures as well as create empathy and admiration for other communities. This automatically leads to intercultural communication which is such an important skill in the 21st century.
If all this was not enough, being multilingual offers personal growth as well. It can build self-confidence and self-esteem, creating pride in the ability of learning a new language and reap the consequences of it in travel, communication and professional development.
Of course, there are many challenges to learning new languages, even in the age of digital media and access. These include lack of motivation, time, resources and opportunity.
But all of these are challenges which can be conquered with dedication and targeted learning, especially in children. It is well known that children pick up languages faster than adults, so it only makes sense to introduce foreign languages in schools.
There are always apprehensions among learners of other languages that one’s native language may be lost or decrease in importance, thus impacting their identity. In fact, it is often the opposite.
Learning other languages has shown that individuals become more aware of their own culture, language and traditions, thus re-affirming their linguistic, social and personal identity.
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