Looking at children through the multilingual lens: cognitive, social and educational benefits

In the superdiverse societies of the 21st century children are exposed to multiple language contact situations from a very young age: they switch between their several languages to communicate with binational parents and monolingual relatives; they integrate new language communities as a result of parents’ chosen or forced mobility; they learn foreign languages in primary school; they have English as a basic skill in the school curriculum; and attend after-school heritage language programmes. This multilingual scenario has a significant impact on children’s early experiences of language, literacy and identity. Yet, society still defines multilingual individuals through the narrow, restrictive monolingual lens and education systems continue to treat languages as separate entities. This presentation explores multilingualism as a holistic phenomenon from a sociolinguistic, cognitive and affective perspective. It looks at how children develop and manage their multiple languages, explores the benefits of multilingualism to the individual and society and identifies strategies teachers can use to build on and value children’s linguistic repertoires. Ultimately, switching from a monolingual to a multilingual lens supports increasingly multicultural societies in becoming inclusive of diversity, tolerant of difference and accepting of multilingual children.