On International Literacy Day, the chief of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) maintained that “engaging with both head and mind is a key for effective learning”.
In her message for the day, Audrey Azoulay pointed out that there are some 7,000 living languages being spoken today, and called them “instruments for communication, engagement in lifelong learning, and participation in society and the world of work”.
“They are also closely linked with distinctive identities, cultures, worldviews and knowledge systems”, she continued. “Embracing linguistic diversity in education and literacy is, therefore, a key part of developing inclusive societies that respects ‘diversity’ and ‘difference’, upholding human dignity”.
Building a solid literacy foundation in a mother language, before moving to a second foreign language, has multiple benefits. However, about 40 percent of the world’s population does not have access to education in a language they speak or understand.
“Engaging with both head and mind is a key for effective learning”, maintained Ms. Azoulay, flagging that “for more than seven decades, UNESCO has supported mother-language-based, multilingual approaches to education and a better understanding of intercultural understandings”.
Original source: UN News
Published on 08 September 2019
