International Mother Language Day

21 February is recognized as the International day for Mother Language.

Did you know? The idea of International Mother Language Day was actually from Bangladesh! It was approved by UNESCO in 1999 and has been observed worldwide since 2000.

According to the report by UNESCO, globally 40% of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. 

However, attempts are being made to bring in awareness and educate the people about the role of mother language in early childhood education.

The theme of the 2021 International Mother Language Day, “Fostering multilingualism for inclusion in education and society,” recognizes that languages and multilingualism can advance inclusion, and the Sustainable Development Goals’ focus on leaving no one behind. UNESCO believes education, based on the first language or mother tongue, must begin from the early years as early childhood care and education is the foundation of learning.

(UNESCO)

What can we do to foster the mother language learning at home?

1. Create an environment for the child to be curious about mother language. Put posters or have educational toys and books that help learn mother language.
2. Read books in your mother language. Books from Tulika Publication are bi-lingual. This means they come in two languages and are really ideal for Indian kids. You can check out their books on https://www.tulikabooks.com/
3. Show them films or drama series in mother language. With the rise of Netflix and Amazon Prime among other online sites for short films and drama series, it is a great way to get the children engaged into watching beautifully written stories.
4. Encourage the child to participate in activities in school or outside that involve mother language. This could be storytelling or poetry recitation or drama classes.

While these are a few ways in which you can encourage the child to learn the mother language, the question remains – In the global way, why is learning mother language important?

Here are the reasons –

1. Mother language helps kids stay connected to their roots.
2. It helps to know more than one language and to be fluent
3. Kids of less than 10 years are able to learn multiple languages faster and get fluent at them better than adults.
4. Learning a mother language helps gain confidence in dealing with local level visibility. 
5. Feel comfortable when talking to anyone at the local places and have to communicate well.
6. Helps develop better speech and diction due to the careful use of words.

While there are more reasons for this for mother language learning, we believe that these are the most important in the childhood years to gain favor with parents. English; is not everything everywhere.