Speaking just one language is not the norm: encouraging bilingualism in NL

Monday 21 February is UNESCO International Mother Language Day. According to the report, ‘there is no research evidence that speaking one’s home language would cause a breakdown of social cohesion; indeed, many studies worldwide indicate the opposite.’ Instead, the report writes, ‘allowing children to use their mother tongue … helps students better understand academic concepts, improves their confidence, and increases opportunities for parental involvement. ‘When I tell people what I do and I say, ‘oh, there’s a Romanian school there, a Bulgarian school here and a Polish school there’, your average Dutch neighbour is like, ‘oh, I had no idea!’ … It’s like it’s a secret for some reason.’ Varied The heritage language schools vary enormously, with anything from seven to 500 children. Transition phase ‘Just because children are given opportunities to nurture their heritage language, it doesn’t mean they are going to integrate less,’ says Cannizzaro, who thinks that the Language Friendly School initiative is ‘absolutely fantastic’. ‘If you ask a child to leave their heritage language at the door when they enter a school, it’s going to hurt their identity development, it’s going to hurt their self-esteem.