Multilingualism
is traditionally used as an umbrella term that includes bilingualism. The
Oxford dictionary, however, defines a bilingual as the person who is able to
speak two languages equally well, whereas a multilingual person is described as
the person able to speak or use many languages. Based on these definitions, two
main conclusions could be drawn. Firstly, we can conclude that bilingualism
refers to two languages and multilingualism to many. In fact, the dictionary
includes an entry that leads the reader to “compare bilingual, monolingual” and
the word compare implies that the terms ‘bilingual’ and ‘multilingual’ are not
used as synonyms. Moreover, the Latin prefixes ‘bi’ and ‘multi’ literally mean
‘two’ and ‘many’ respectively, which would underpin our first conclusion.
Secondly, our attention is drawn to the fact that where the bilingual person is
supposed to speak or use both languages ‘equally well’, this adverbial phrase
is obliterated I the case of the multilingual. One could also infer that it is
quite habitual to speak two languages equally well, but that this is a much
convoluted task when three or more languages are involved.
Monolingual teachers
refer to native speakers of the target language who must rely on the students
to speak their L2 of necessity, which can be an advantage in some situations.
Bilingual teachers refer mainly to native speakers of the target language who
know the students L1 and C1 (native language and culture) well. Non-native
professional teachers are usually bilingual to some extent, so some of the
strengths of the bilingual perspective apply to them as well. There will always
be exceptions, such as monolingual teachers who have a broad perspective and
bilingual teachers who have a narrow perspective on language teaching.
Bilingual teachers tend to be more tolerant of first language use in the
foreign language classroom, because they see students developmentally.
Bilingual teachers may
use both languages in class strategically. By mixing the two languages at
certain times, they can lighten the cognitive load on students while modeling
the goal of bilingual functioning. In effective immersion approaches, languages
may not be alternated in the same period. What is ideal optimal depends on
various factors such as the motivation and willingness of students to
communicate, which may differ considerably among individuals.
Types of
language acquisition:
1. First or
native acquisition of one language refers to natural acquisition from regular
interactions in a language used by parents, siblings, playmates and others
close to the family. From age 0 to 3 the basic grammar and usage native
languages are acquired except for the pronunciation of sound that are
physically difficult to form. So what is thought of as native speaking
pronunciation, even for monolinguals is actually achieved completely around age
eight.
2. Another type
is second or foreign language learning, generally involving formal education in
school after early childhood or informal self study. L2 learning is what people
usually have in mind as the receiving end or counterpart of language teaching,
yet what is ultimately acquired is not the same as what is taught. Individuals
build their own language systems largely subconsciously with the language they
acquire and learn according to their own unique developmental path.
3. A third is
multilingual learning, which is qualitatively similar to L2 learning in that
languages are generally learned one after another. But because of the cognitive
skills sharpened in learning L2, L3 becomes easier to learn than L2 was and so
on with further languages.
4. Bilingual
acquisition is also called bilingual first language acquisition.
5. The family
situation of two parents with different native languages is where bilingualism
is an apt term, which also includes multilingualism. Two native languages are
qualitatively different from learning languages one after another; they are
naturally acquired rather than learned and simultaneous from early childhood
rather than consecutive. Parents should by all means start two languages from
age 0, since babies have the innate language acquisition ability and within a
few years, naturally separate the languages into two systems, which they access
according to the languages others use.
6. Multilingual
acquisition is less common because children usually have two parents or
guardians at most. Cases of multilingual acquisition in terms of natural
acquisition with three or more native languages rather than two. Children can
become multilingual at any age, but it is not common in most countries for
parents to be linguists, to utilize an effective strategy toward a clear goal
of multilingualism or to move around different language communities in such a
way that children naturally acquire and maintain several languages.
Advantages
of multilingualism:
1. More options
to communicate, more opportunities to get to know another culture.
2. It gives you
the opportunity to get in touch with others.
3. Multilingualism
opens you up as a person.
4. Children get
more flexible because of trilingual education.
5. It is good
for the brain because you are able to read two books.
6. The pupils
are able to express themselves better in different languages.
7. Multilingualism
brings you much further in life compared to when you only speak Telugu.
Disadvantages
of multilingualism:
1. To learn
language requires taking time off another language.
2. It is not
bad but it requires a lot of effort.
3. It is
difficult to achieve the highest level in all languages.
4. It is not realistic.
Our pupils do not learn well either of the languages.
5. Not all
methods are aimed at multilingual education.
