New York: UNESCO called on countries to pursue a policy of multilingual education.
on the International Mother Language Day, the UN organization advised children to be taught in their mother tongue during the earliest years of their schooling, which can be combined with the official language of instruction, an approach known as multilingual education.
UNESCO’s World Inequality Database on Education shows that, globally, children being taught in a language they speak at home are 30 per cent more likely to read with understanding by the end of primary school than those who do not speak the language of instruction. Evidence also shows that learning in first language or mother tongue education improves children’s social skills.
On Mother Language Day, UNESCO also reminds the world of the importance of safeguarding indigenous languages. At least 40 per cent of the more than 6,700 languages spoken around the world are threatened with extinction in the long term, due to a lack of speakers.
Source: Jordan News Agency