Polyglot studies in spring 2022

2024

This guide is for someone who wants to set the goal of becoming a polyglot and wants to start now. There is not one single method to learn multiple languages that works for everyone. However, there are stages and steps that a person can take to reach plurilingualism. The chapters in this book describe these steps and stages. Based on various theories and pedagogical frameworks for learning languages and on personal learning and teaching experiences, this manual will provide you with the required information and guidelines to create your repertoire of linguistic skills, learning strategies, communication abilities, learning experiences, and enhanced motivation to learn three or more languages daily from a decolonial perspective. Starting from the idea that becoming a polyglot is a life-long objective, planning to learn more than one additional language is much more efficient. Although this might initially seem challenging, learning about languages as interconnected communications systems has valuable benefits. This guide explains a person's steps in a cyclical, alternate, sequential, back-and-forth, and front-to-back way when learning languages. The method described in this guide is highly flexible because it can be adapted to individual decisions made over time to obtain the best results. You can read this booklet in sections or one sitting if you wish.

BABEL TOWER: IT PAYS TO SPEAK IN TONGUES MESSAGE OF POLYGLOTS IN ACTION FOR DIVERSITY, INC., ON THE OCCASION OF THE NATIONAL FOREIGN LANGUAGE WEEK 2018 POLYGLOTS IN ACTION FOR DIVERSITY, INC. (PAD) is delighted to join Alpha Mu Gamma – the Society that inaugurated the National Foreign Language Week in the spring of 1957 – Morgan State University’s Department of World Languages & International Studies, the College of Liberal Arts, and many other educational institutions in celebrating and promoting the studies of world languages and cultures as well as their vital importance for international competence. In “Babel: Genesis and Evolution of a Multilingual Dictionary,” an introduction to, A POLYGLOT POCKECT DICTIONARY OF LINGALA, ENGLISH, FRENCH, AND ITALIAN, I raised and answered two questions, Why Is Multilingualism Important? What Are the Benefits of World Languages? If it is true, as Charlemagne said, that “to have another language is to possess a second soul,” then it must also be true that those who speak many languages possess many souls. Multilingualism is important for many reasons, including but not limited to the following ten on which I would like to exhort you to meditate and act accordingly. 1. ENHANCED GLOBAL COMMUNICATION ABILITY: Multilingualism allows polyglots to assume multiple personalities and communicate with their global brothers and sisters. It enhances their participation in our common humanity in a spider’s web-like and shrinking world. 2. NEW EXPERIENCES AND OTHERS’ PERSPECTIVES: In an article entitled, “Bilinguals’ Superior Social Skills, published in The New York Times on March 13, 2016, Katherine Kinzler states that “Learning more than one language enables new conversations and new experiences. […].” She also argues that “Multilingual children and people in multilingual environments have social experiences that provide routine practice in considering the perspectives of others…” (Katherine Kinzler, 2016, 10). 3. BRAIN POWER: According to “Sociolinguistics,” a study conducted by neuroscientist Andrea Michelli at University College, London, and published in the journal Nature in October 2004, learning a foreign language may develop and improve the ability of the brain. Consistent with this finding, the theme of the National Foreign Language Week (NFLW) 2016 in the USA was, “Languages Enrich Your Brain.” 4. BILINGUALISM & RESISTANCE TO DEMENTIA: “In a study of 44 elderly Spanish-English bilinguals, scientists led by Tamar Gollan of the University of California, San Diego, found that individuals with a higher degree of bilingualism were more resistant than others to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease: the higher the degree of bilingualism, the later the age of onset.” 5. COGNITIVE SKILLS & ADAPTABILITY: In an article titled, FLES Improves Cognitive Skills,” Foster and Reeves (1989) concluded that study of other languages and cultures upgrades cognitive skills and fosters adaptability in new situations. 6. ENHANCEMENT OF NATIVE LANGUAGE: In an article titled, “Tangible Benefits of the Study of Latin: A Review of Research,” Masciantonio (1977) showed that studying other languages improves students’ ability to use their native language and heightens their sensitivity to their culture. 7. Travel Advantages: Knowledge of other countries’ languages and cultures makes it easy and comfortable to travel there. 8. NATIONAL INTEREST AND SECURITY: The September 11 attacks on the USA should be a wake-up call, reminding this country that foreign language skills must be treated as national interest and national security issues. 9. CULTURAL DIPLOMACY AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION: Multilingualism is a powerful tool for cultural and public or people to people diplomacy. Only through other people’s language can one better understand them and appreciate their culture. This is what the German philosopher Johann G. Fichte (1762-1814) meant when he stated, “People’s language is their soul” (Die Sprache eines Volkes ist seine Seele, in German). Nelson Mandela expressed this idea when he stated that "If you talk to a people in a language they understand, that goes to their heads. If you talk to them in their language, that goes to their hearts." (Nelson Mandela Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, Xplore Inc, 2018.) Moreover, multilingualism is an effective tool for conflict resolution and peacekeeping. 10. ECONOMIC BENEFITS & CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: Knowledge of another language is essential in numerous occupations, from law enforcement to healthcare, from education to business, from vocational to technological fields. These numerous benefits of multilingualism support the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein’s statement that “The limits of my language mean the limits of my world” [Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt, in German (Wittgenstein, 1961, §5.6). [...]

Innovative language teaching and learning at university: integrating informal learning into formal language education, 2018

The closing plenary session at the InnoConf17 conference was an informal interview that Tita Beaven conducted with Richard Simcott, which we reproduce here in an edited version. TB 3 : So, Richard, you are a polyglot. What is that? RS 4 : Well, I suppose polyglot will take you back to the Greek: 'poly' is a lot and 'glot' is languages or tongues. So, someone who speaks lots of languages. How many that is is up for debate and a lot of research. TB: Ok, so we know what polyglot means, but what is a polyglot for you? RS: I think for me a polyglot really is somebody who sets out intentionally to learn multiple languages, say more than maybe just your school language that you carry on studying because you like the culture or fall in love with it… I'm not sure whether to use the word serial, but a 'serial language learner'. So, I guess it's about doing something that you don't necessarily need for your education, you don't necessarily need for your work; you're learning languages just because you want to…

Sociolinguistic Studies, 2008

Some may find it strange to see a special journal issue on monolingualism. After all, is it not bilinguals and multilinguals who present the more interesting questions? It certainly seems so, for research has concentrated on their linguistic, psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic make-up. The implication of this is that monolingualism is the norm, and that bilingualism and multilingualism constitute abnormal states which merit investigation; even though this idea sits oddly with the belief of most linguists that the majority of the world's population is bi-or multilingual, and that therefore monolingualism may be the exception rather than the norm. There is little systematic investigation of monolingualism: Romaine pointed out in 1995 that she would find it strange to see a book with the title 'Monolingualism'. This special issue of Sociolinguistic Studies carries just such a title, and the papers it includes represent an attempt to explore the phenomenon of monolingualism from a number of different perspectives. In this introduction I will outline why a simple definition of monolingualism is neither easy to establish nor useful, and also why it is important to come to an understanding of it as a particular kind of 'lingualism' (Cruz Ferreira p.c.). I then review ways in which monolingualism has been represented thus far in the literature, outline some possible research questions and end by introducing the contributions to this volume.

The Qualitative Report, 2019

In this study, participants acquired three types of language, those are regional, national and foreign ones. The purpose of this research was to explore how Indonesian polyglots acquire several different languages. We collected data through demographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews obtained from nine participants. Four salient themes and sub-themes that emerged in this research were (a) mastering languages through instructed learning (learning in formal educational institution and learning in informal educational institution), (b) gaining extra amounts of languages input beyond the classroom (getting more access to a national language environment and getting more access to foreign languages environment), (c) learning languages autonomously (self-directed learning through printed resources and self-directed learning through media and technology), and (d) acculturating with a new language group in society. The findings indicated that the polyglots acquired several diff...

Multilingualism , 2019