Research shows that young children are not just capable of learning several languages — they are hard-wired to do so. And being multilingual has cognitive and intellectual benefits that extend beyond the basic advantage of knowing another language.
Compiled by: Aaida Rajabali
While surfing television programmes one day, I realised that I pay for far too many channels broadcast in languages that I do not understand. My subscription includes everything from Asian-Orient and South Asian to French and Spanish. I could take courses in each of these languages to maximise my investment, but I will never achieve near-native proficiency in any.
Born in Kenya and raised in Canada, I speak Kutchi and English fluently. Still, I struggle to strengthen my French and Spanish –– languages I acquired much later in life. Research suggests that had I only been instructed in those languages from birth, I would have mastered them by now.
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