International Mother Language Day: Why multilingual education is key to intergenerational learning

The term ‘mother tongue’ is widely used, however how it is defined can depend on who is using it and in what context. Mother tongue can refer to the language that one has learnt first; the language one identifies with or is identified as a native speaker of by others; the language one knows best and the language one uses most. Some people can have more than one mother tongue. It may also be referred to as a ‘primary’ or ‘first language’. 

Accordingly, mother tongue education is generally understood to mean that learners’ mother tongue is being used as the medium of instruction in the classroom or other educational settings. This includes the mother tongue as a subject or course in a bilingual or multilingual education system.

When we talk about bilingual and multilingual education, we refer to the use of two or more languages as medium of instruction in schools. 

Intergenerational learning is defined as learning that happens across different age groups and generations. Integral to concept is the multi-directionality of learning: children can learn from adults, adults from children, younger children from older siblings, and from other relatives. It is a collective learning process in which the whole family learns together.

UNESCO advocates for intergenerational learning as part of a holistic approach to lifelong learning, linking three major objectives: the wellbeing of children and their families; universal basic education; and the advancement of literacy and numeracy for all young people and adults.

Without intergenerational learning, we cannot meet our commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 to ensure inclusive, equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Languages and intergenerational learning go hand in hand. Without one, the other is at risk of being lost. 

The languages we speak shape our values, our beliefs and our identities. Thanks to language, our experiences, our traditions and our knowledge are transmitted and kept alive from one generation to the next.

Linguistic diversity reflects the richness of our imaginations and our ways of life and is an essential component of the intangible heritage of humanity. But linguistic diversity is increasingly threatened as languages disappear. Multilingualism provides crucial opportunities to bridge differences, to dialogue and to support understanding and cooperation. However, multilingualism today is a goal, not a tangible reality.

The choice of a language of instruction that the learners understand and speak is well recognized as one determiner of inclusive and equitable education, and as a key component of accomplishing both Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the Global Education 2030 Agenda. For minority populations in particular, the use of their own language as the medium of instruction can mean the difference between success and failure in education. 

UNESCO advocates for the use of mother tongue education for as long as possible. Evidence clearly shows that a child learns best in their mother tongue. To maintain the positive effects of teaching and learning in the early years, the mother tongue language needs to be sufficiently developed before any transition to second language instruction.

UNESCO analysis shows that in upper-middle- and high-income countries, at the end of primary, children who speak the language they are taught in are 14% more likely to read with understanding than those who do not. In France, children who speak French at home are 28% more likely to be able to read with understanding at the end of primary than children who do not. This share rises to over 60% more likely in countries like the Islamic Republic of Iran, Slovakia, South Africa and Türkiye. 

At the end of lower secondary, adolescents speaking the language of instruction are over 40% more likely to be able to read with understanding compared to those who did not, ranging from a 4% gap in Canada, to around 40% in Germany and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and over 60% in Thailand. Data from UNESCO’s SDG 4 Scorecard clearly show that those not learning in their mother tongue are being left further and further behind.

On International Mother Language Day and every day, UNESCO calls on governments to ensure multilingual education within their formal and non-formal education systems to ensure intergenerational learning and the harmonious and fruitful coexistence of languages. These efforts will help to advance the SDGs and the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Languages, and the essential contribution of knowledge systems and worldviews transmitted through language.

• International Mother Language Day
• Celebrations on 21 February at UNESCO