Happy International Mother Language Day!

Does parenting a teenager leave you doubting your influence on your child’s identity and values? Take heart from recent research at the University of Cambridge which suggests there is at least one aspect in which you, the parent, are more influential than teachers or even peers: your child’s perception of themselves as a multilingual person. 

Parents who value their own multilingual capabilities, whether as a native speaker of a language or only knowing a few words and expressions, are more likely to have children who consider themselves to be multilingual.

 More good news: Identifying as multilingual has a positive impact on academic achievement across the curriculum. In fact, further University of Cambridge research showed that students who define themselves as multilingual achieve higher grades not only in languages, but also in non-language subjects such as maths, geography and science. This effect is true for all students who consider themselves to be multilingual, regardless of whether they are fluent speakers or beginning learners.

So, whether multiple languages are used in your home or your child wants to show off the few words they learnt in their Chinese, German, Japanese or French lessons at Fort St, encourage them to value their linguistic capabilities! You may well be helping your child to develop a multilingual identity and improve their overall academic performance.

With this good news for parents, the languages staff at Fort St wish all parents and carers of our wonderful, polyglot Fort St students a Happy International Mother Language Day!

You can read more about the University of Cambridge’s research here:

Want more students to learn languages? Win over the parents, research suggests

Link between multilingualism and better GSCE grades

International Mother Language Day, first declared by UNESCO in 1999, is observed on 21 February to celebrate and promote multilingualism. You can read more about the day’s goals in 2023 here: https://www.un.org/en/observances/mother-language-day