Census data reveals that over a fifth of Australian households speak a language other than English.
And while any parent raising bilingual children knows that language education can be a big task, research suggests it is worth the trouble.
John Hajek, a Linguist Professor at Melbourne University explains why.
“We know that over the longer term, bilingual children do better at NAPLAN. But actually, there's more to it. It's about broader personal development; children understanding difference, understanding people around them, understanding themselves. The research shows that small children, four/five-year-olds, who have another language or learning another language that they try harder to be empathetic towards people they're interacting with, they try harder to understand what people around them want. So, you know, really much broader benefits to an individual child. And that, of course, has great benefits to society in general.”
For many communities, Professor Hajek says, language learning helps families pass on cultural knowledge to the younger ones.
“Language and culture are really closely tied together for lots of communities. And there are many success stories of second and third generations who've been able to learn the family language, the heritage language, as well as the culture very successfully. But it's really up to communities and individuals to work out what's important to them.”
Click on the player above to listen to this update in Punjabi.
