The mother-tongue dilemma
	Studies show that we learn better in our mother tongue. But then it has to be taught in school, which is not the case of all minority languages. More convinced than ever of the value of multilingualism, certain countries are trying to promote learning in a number of languages. However, the political and economic obstacles are enormous. >> Read More

Edito - Language and identity are linked – as the term ‘mother tongue’ implies. A healthy identity balances different aspects of our personalities.

A community expresses part of its identity in its languages of instruction and a healthy society makes choices that promote harmonious communities and confident individuals. Fortunately these goals are usually congruent.

Years of research have shown that children who begin their education in their mother tongue make a better start, and continue to perform better, than those for whom school starts with a new language. The same applies to adults seeking to become literate. This conclusion is now widely implemented, although we still hear of governments that insist on imposing a foreign language of instruction on young children, either in a mistaken attempt at modernity or to express the pre-eminence of a social dominant group.

UNESCO continues to publicize these research results, most recently in our position paper Education in a Multilingual World. The sobering events of the early years of this new millennium are also teaching governments that seeking social harmony produces happier and more productive nations than trying to preserve hierarchies of influence.
Real life, however, is not always so simple. Some languages do not have the range of vocabulary and concepts to be useful beyond the early stages of schooling without additional codification and the invention of new words, which can take years. My father’s family is Welsh-speaking and years ago I remember my uncle telling of his frustration at teaching geography in Welsh because the children spent more time learning newly invented words than learning geography. Today the language has developed to cope and Welsh education is in good shape.

In today’s diverse world giving individuals confidence also means giving them the ability to communicate outside their own language group, either in another national language or in an international language. I was an adult before I became fluent in French, but juggling two working languages, in Canada and at UNESCO, has since enriched my life. I am also delighted that my two grandsons have learned Gaelic since moving to Scotland’s Isle of Skye and can use this language to keep secrets from their parents!

John Daniel
Assistant Director-General for Education