Being bi-, tri- or multilingual is the most valuable asset for living life to the full!

It is essential to free the use of language (where, when and with whom a language is spoken) from any political, ethnic or religious considerations.

Speaking two or more languages opens us up to the world and to different cultures, and gives us the ability to be and to live with a certain flexibility and tolerance of difference.

It is not true that learning a new language can hinder one’s knowledge of one’s first language or another language. This may still be the view of many teachers who are monolingual and who live in predominantly monolingual countries, often with a colonial past.

For monolingual children from the dominant culture and language of the host country, it is highly instructive and enlightening to have friends who can switch from one language to another when circumstances require it and different emotions need to be expressed.

If children are bi- or trilingual from birth and use their language in the same specific relationships and contexts, the loss or discouragement of using a language will cut them off from important relationships and a sense of belonging.

For example, they may no longer be able to speak with their grandparents or feel at ease in their country of origin or in the regions where their father or mother comes from.

When children and adults are in situations of severe distress and anxiety, they need to (re)establish safe and loving relationships in their mother tongue(s) with family members and/or other adults who care for them.

It is not just a matter of allowing them to choose their own mode of verbal expression and to hear reassurance and explanations in a language they will understand immediately. It is also a matter of respecting their world and their identity when they feel threatened.