Multilingual skills are vital for effective communication and collaboration in today’s interconnected world. For students to develop these skills, schools may need to focus on fostering a multilingual identity. Research demonstrates that if students view themselves as multilingual, regardless of their proficiency levels, they may exhibit higher motivation to learn more languages (Forbes et al., 2021).
This is perhaps due to the sense of ownership and connection to the languages they identify with. Conversely, if students identify themselves as monolingual, chances are they become less confident in using and expanding their multilingual repertoire due to having a fixed mindset towards their language abilities.
In addition to improving individual additional language learning, students with a multilingual identity may also contribute to preserving linguistic diversity. One reason is that such students are more aware of the values of all languages they understand. In countries that are struggling with maintaining their linguistic diversity, having young generations with such a sense of self is critical. A case in point is Indonesia, which, despite being the second-most linguistically diverse country, has been witnessing the gradual loss of speakers for its 718 minority languages.
It has been argued that dominant languages such as Indonesian and English have permeated schools, media and sometimes even homes, pushing minority language use to the periphery and thus leading to a decline in pride and ownership towards these languages (Cohn & Ravindranath, 2014).
