On 3rd June 2021, Kor Askar Wataniah had organized an online talk event, by the name ‘Multilingual? What So Special to be One of It?’. The event was carried out to have a better understanding of multilingualism and its importance. Also, it was also done to encourage fellow students to learn new languages.

 

Led by the moderator, Muhammad Syahmi Haikal bin Nor Arizan who is also the president of FALCOM, two panels were invited to share their thoughts regarding the topic. The panels are Dr. Nurshafawati Ahmad Sani, one of the lecturers of FBK (Fakulti Bahasa dan Komunikasi) from UniSZA, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maizatulliza Muhamad, an FBK lecturer from UPSI. The event was carried out on two online platforms which are Google Meet and Facebook Live to help the audience to have easy access of attending the event.

 

Before we continue, let us understand the concept of multilingualism. Multilingualism is the ability of an individual speaker or a group of speakers to communicate effectively in more than one language. Meanwhile, a multilingual is a person who can speak multiple languages. Multilingual also can be known as polyglot. If you’re learning or speaking in more than one language, then yes, you are multilingual!

 

Many situations could lead someone to become multilingual. One can either learn a new language in a classroom or even in a business situation. One of the panels, Dr. Nurshafawati Ahmad Sani, enlightened the audience that multilingualism can also occur in our everyday lives. She mentioned that in the era of the new economy, mobility, and technologies where English is used as Lingua Franca, it also helped to promote multilingualism to the society.

 

Furthermore, the presence of immigrants working in technological sectors, both from the locals and from other countries, contributes to the expansion of multilingualism in technology. There are also many immigrant workers in other sectors such as education, and health. The existence of various people who become multilingual increases both economic mobility and opportunities. As a result of individuals speaking different languages and having different cultures, the economy that only has one image becomes diverse and offers a wide range of services.

 

This will create more opportunities for people to learn language not only in English but also in other languages such as French, Chinese, and Arabic. The second panel, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maizatulliza Muhamad also added that multilingualism should be celebrated and that all languages should be treated equally. Not only English, she stated that we should also learn another language as it also has its value. According to Babbel.com, it is stated that in the year 2021, the most spoken languages in the world are Chinese, and Spanish followed by the English language.

 

“All languages should be treated equally and we are encouraged to learn it, not just English but the others as well. Being multilingual is something that should be celebrated.” - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maizatulliza Muhammad.

 

Aside from that, both of the panels have also delivered important and valuable lessons concerning multilingualism. Dr. Nurshafawati reminded the audience that in learning a new language, one shouldn't be afraid and ashamed. With multilingualism, it allows us to learn about new cultures and meet new people. In this context, it is proven that being multilingual can boost someone’s confidence in interacting with other people. “To learn a new language, just be brave and confident. It is okay to make mistakes while learning a second language because it is a part of the process.” -Dr. Nurshafawati Ahmad Sani.

 

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maizatulliza Muhamad also added that multilingualism should be celebrated and recognized for its usage in ESL (English as Second Language) classrooms. By using translanguaging that is to read the text in English and understand it in the first language to reduce learners’ anxiety in studying something new. The usage of multilingualism in ESL classrooms could help to improve the student’s understanding better.

 

Multilingualism is a special and unique ability to have. This is because, by being multilingual we can see and understand more about the other side of the world, as we can exchange opinions and culture with new people with different backgrounds. Thus, it’s proven that multilingualism is indeed special and we have to adopt this ability so that we can improve ourselves with the benefits of being multilingual.