Teach Yer Children Well (language)

[Andre Cramblit]

UNESCO urges teaching from earliest age in indigenous mother languages
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=9832&Cr=UNESCO&Cr1=#


20 February 2004

With an average of two indigenous languages dying out every month, the
United Nations cultural agency has called for national education systems
to teach children in mother tongues from the earliest age as a means
both of stimulating learning ability and preserving the world_s rich
heritage of linguistic diversity.

_It is widely acknowledged nowadays that teaching in both the mother
tongue and the official national language helps children to obtain
better results and stimulates their cognitive development and capacity
to learn,_ the Director-General of the UN Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Koïchiro Matsuura, said in a message for
International Mother Language Day, which is celebrated on 21 February.

UNESCO_s General Conference 1999 proclaimed the Day in recognition of
the importance of the world_s linguistic diversity and to promote mother
tongue languages. But a survey being undertaken by the agency indicates
that although the use of mother languages as a medium of instruction is
gaining ground, few countries have incorporated the idea into their
education systems.

The study shows that India is one of the world leaders in the
development of multilingual education systems, with about 80 languages
being used to teach children at different levels of schooling. But
across Africa, where an estimated 2,011 languages are spoken, the
languages of the former colonial powers - English, French, Spanish and
Portuguese - still dominate education systems. A similar situation
prevails in Latin America.

According to the _Atlas of the World Languages in Danger of
Disappearing_ there are more than 6,000 languages spoken in the world
today. Ninety five percent of these languages are spoken by only four
percent of the population, and an average of two die out each month.

--


André Cramblit: andre.p.cramblit.86 at alum.dartmouth.org is the Operations
Director Northern California Indian Development Council NCIDC
(http://www.ncidc.org) is a non-profit that meets the development needs
of American Indians

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