The mother-tongue dilemma

Many were outraged in 1998 when Californian voters imposed English as the state's sole language in publicly funded schools. It meant Spanish-speaking children, among other foreign-born children, could no longer be taught in their own language. Instead, they would have an intensive one-year course in English and then enter the general school system.

The move was watched closely nationwide because 3.4 million children in the United States either speak English badly or not at all.

The episode was not trivial. First of all, it showed the passions that anything to do with language stirs up. It also reversed a decades-long trend towards acceptance of the mother tongue and, more broadly, the benefits of multilingualism.

Many studies have shown that children do better if they get a basic education in their own language. In New Zealand, a recent study showed that Maori children who received basic education in their own language performed better than those educated in English only.

In the United States, a research unit at George Mason University in Virginia has monitored results at 23 primary schools in 15 states since 1985. Four out of six different curricula involved were partly conducted in the mother tongue. The survey shows that, after 11 years of schooling, there is a direct link between academic results and the time spent learning in the mother tongue. Those who do best in secondary school have had a bilingual education.

Some rich countries have become more aware of the issue and have started revising their language policies. The idea that integration means giving up your mother tongue is no longer sacred. The countries of the North are taking in more and more immigrants and have to adapt to their presence. In 2000, more than a third of the population of Western Europe under 35 was of immigrant origin, according to a recent Unesco report on linguistic diversity in Europe.

The report quotes a study done in Holland showing that in a sample of 41,600 children aged between four and 17, about 49 per cent of primary and 42 per cent of secondary school pupils use a language other than Dutch at home, such as Turkish, Hindi, Berber or Arabic. This makes it hard to continue with the old policy of linguistic assimilation.

Countries that have responded to the situation include the Australian state of Victoria, where bilingualism has been steadily introduced in all primary schools over the past 20 years. In 2002, compulsory courses in "a language other than English" involved 41 languages in primary and secondary schools. Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, German and French are the most popular.

Mother-tongue education and multilingualism are increasingly accepted around the world and speaking one's own language is more and more a right. On top of this, languages are now regarded as an integral part of a people's identity.

"Every decision about languages is political," says Linda King, senior programme specialist with Unesco's Division for the Promotion of Quality Education. "The main thing is to respect local languages and legitimise them within the school system as well as giving pupils access to a national and foreign language."

This article was excerpted from Education Today, the newsletter of Unesco's Education Sector.