The benefits of multilingualism
Multilingualism is the global norm. There are around 7000 languages spoken in the world, within 195 countries. This means that every country in the world is multilingual. (Duarte, 2021), and Grosjean (2010) notes that over half of the world’s population use two or more languages in everyday life.
In the 2020 Scottish Government pupil census, a total of 168 languages were spoken as the main home language by pupils in publicly funded schools in Scotland, and 9.8% of pupils (68,872 pupils) have a ‘main home language’ other than English. (Scottish Government, 2021)
Speaking multiple languages is argued to bring a wide range of linguistic, sociocultural, cognitive, educational, and economic benefits. Marian & Shook (2012) argue:
The cognitive and neurological benefits of bilingualism extend from early childhood to old age as the brain more efficiently processes information and staves off cognitive decline. Bilingual people enjoy advantages: they have enriched cognitive control, it’s likely that they have improved metalinguistic awareness, as well as better memory, visual-spatial skills and even creativity. There are also social benefits from being bilingual. For example, having the ability to explore a culture through its native tongue or talking to someone with whom you might otherwise never be able to communicate.
The Education Scotland guidance document, Learning in 2+ languages (2020, p.8) states that:
Bilingualism brings with it definite cognitive advantages. Many of these advantages are important for raising the achievement of bilingual learners across the curriculum. They may include:
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- greater awareness of how language operates. This can help with the development of literacy skills, especially decoding, and with the learning of other languages
- enhanced problem-solving abilities
- heightened creative potential, which may display itself in writing and critical understanding
- an awareness of the importance of context and audience in language use.
This message about the advantages of bilingualism is also reflected by the Bell Foundation who provide guidance and support for learners of English as an Additional Language (EAL). The Bell Foundation (2021) note:
Bilingualism and multilingualism are an asset – the ability to use more than one language is a valuable skill that learners who use EAL bring with them, regardless of whether they are New to English or not. Learners actively use the languages they already know to learn English.
Multilingual learners switch between, and make connections between languages, and apply a range of strategies to support their learning. Bilingualism Matters’ guidance for parents provides a helpful overview on how learners operate across multiple languages and how best to support them (Sorace and Ladd, 2004: see Resources section). For practitioners, developing an understanding of the cognitive processes, skills and attributes of multilingualism, as outlined in this section, is a key starting point for planning how best to encourage and support multilingual children and young people.