An overview on multilingualism

Abstract

The article gives a brief analytical survey of multilingualism practices, its consequences, its benefits in education and discussions on the appropriate ways towards its achievement in education. Multilingualism refers to speaking more than one language competently. Generally, there are both the official and unofficial multilingualism practices. A brief survey on multilingualism practices outside Africa indicates that Canada, Belgium and Switzerland are officially declared multilingual countries. Likewise, countries like South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya experience multilingualism in Africa. Multilingualism exhibits both the political and the linguistic consequences. The linguistic consequences include the development of a lingua franca, creation of mixed languages within a linguistic milieu, enhances cross cultural communication strategies and cross-cultural communication skills. Benefits of multilingualism practices in education include the creation and appreciation of cultural awareness, adds academic and educational value, enhances creativity, adjustment in society and appreciation of local languages.