Importance Of Multilingualism

Introduction

Multilingualism is defined by the Oxford Dictionary for English (2005, 46159) as being able to communicate using several languages. In the South African context, it implies that people who are classified as multilingual are proficient in comprehension and communication, in both the written and spoken form of more than one language.

Being proficient in more than just one language is significant advantage when one wants to acquire a subsequent language. Unfortunately, students who are well-versed in more than one language take their existing knowledge for granted and they do not tap into their extensive prior knowledge, as pointed out by Milambiling (2011, 18).

In this literature review we will be discussing whether or not the teacher’s

They need to not only know languages, subject matter, and teaching methodology, teachers have to have an understanding of the political struggles and social circumstances of the student’s schools and communities. She then goes on to say that multilingual students will not always make the connection between their previous language learning—which may have been acquired at an early age—and their current language learning. The teacher therefore needs to be aware for the complexities surrounding the language as mentioned in the previous

This is due to the quality training they had received whilst obtaining their teaching degree. However, it became apparent that once teachers qualify there is very little support from the Western Cape Education Department regarding the implementation of new and innovative strategies to assist teachers and learners with the challenges faced in multilingual