The UK has never been as ethnically and linguistically diverse as it is today. According to Guardian, the country had, in 2021, 6 million foreign nationals and 9.6 million Britons born abroad, 35% of whom live in London. This is what the German anthropologist Steven Vertovec calls “superdiversity”.
Consequently, more and more children are now growing up in multilingual environments. “The UK’s superdiversity is reflected in our school system, with around 20% of pupils speaking English as an additional language. In schools in London, over 300 different languages are spoken,” highlights the daily.
There are several strategies adopted by binational and/or plurilingual families to transmit languages from parents to children:
- the OPOL approach (“One Parent One Language”, one language, one parent),
- the “minority language at home” approach: people only speak their language at home, and the local language is learned and practiced only at school and outside the home,
- the plurilingual approach, in which parents switch fluently from one language to another as it suits them without worrying about distinguishing between them. This approach is now increasingly advocated by many language experts. Niloufar and Saam’s parents adopted the latter approach, so that the whole family now speaks what they call “Finglish”, a mixture of Farsi and English!
There are many misconceptions about multilingualism, recalls the Guardian. It is sometimes said that this can create tensions within families, that it “would delay language development or impact academic ability”. Unfortunately, multilingualism, which primarily concerned the children of immigrants, was socially stigmatized and these preconceived ideas remain tenacious.
Researchers have spent decades busting these myths, as well as proving that bilingual children have many cognitive benefits like improved executive function: the mental processes that allow us to focus our attention, plan, remembering and juggling multiple tasks.”
Learning different languages can even physically change the brain, “various studies showing that gray matter volume increases in regions responsible for learning and short-term memory retention” . It would also make it possible to recover better in the event of a stroke and reduce the risk of dementia. Finally, the ability to express yourself in several languages makes you more empathetic, because it accustoms you to seeing things from different points of view.
The British newspaper suggests that schools change their approach and encourage children to express themselves also in their languages other than English. This will help them on the path to multilingualism while being enriching for all. “If we cultivate a system where linguistic diversity is celebrated, people can be more fully themselves. In globalized Britain that is surely something to look for,” he concludes.