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Department of Educational Sciences and Psychology

International Mother Language Day

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Eine Hand schreibt das Wort Hallo in verschiedenen Sprachen auf eine Schultafel © istock.com​/​Warchi

The International Mother Language Day celebrates and encourages the linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. On occasion of this day, Nele McElvany talked to dpa about the advantages and the disadvantages of being bi- or multilingual. Studies suggest that more and more people in Germany are at least bilingual. Nowadays, every third child in Germany has at least one parent at the end of primary school who does not speak German as a mother language. Those, who grow up in bi- or multilingual families, often develop language competencies at a native level in more than one language. Nele McElvany says, “One can and one should trust children to grow up with two or more languages and to let them find their way. For example, talking Turkish with the parents and talking German at preschool can work out just fine.” The sooner they learn it, the better. However, kindergarten and primary schools should promote German language support.