Students Name

Faculty/ Group
Lecturers Name
Title
Order
General Purpose
Specific Purpose
Central Idea

: Hannah binti Mahmud

: LAW/ LWB03A
: Madam Roseleena
: Nurturing multilingual generation
: Topical Order
: To Inform
: To Inform my audience about ways to nurture multilingual generation
: In order to nurture multilingualism it must be done since tender age,
strategise properly what language you wish to master and continuously
practicing the languages
Introduction

I.

II.
III.
IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

If I said Lughatun wahidah la takfi, or Yizhong yuyan yongyuan bugou, can

anyone tell me what does it mean?
A. Or In what language they are?
B. The phrase means one language is never enough.
According to UNESCO, there are around 6,000 languages spoken around the world
Multilingualism generally means use of multiple languages.
There are varieties definition of multilingualism defined by researchers
A. General consensus is that multilingualism is common human condition that
makes it possible for an individual to function, at some level, in more than one
language.
Around the globe, there are already many individuals who are referring themselves as
polyglot, a person who capable to use multiple languages in their communication.
A. In 1998, Ziad Fazah was acknowledged in the Guinness Book of World
Records because of his capability to speak and read, in not 5, but 58
languages.
B. A young polyglot, Timothy Donner is able to speak in over 20 languages and
among them are Japanese, Italian, Hindi and Arabic.
When you are able to understand and use more than one language, you might save
yourself from some kind of back talk or insult in other language that people might use
to dupe you
A. For example, if someone said that you are jamal do not delighted with it
because he means to say that you are a camel
B. Only when he said you are jameel you can be pleased about it as it means
you are beautiful.
Multilingualism can be attained if the learning of languages has begun since tender
age, for young children, and for adults, if it is done with proper strategies and constant
practice.

(Transition: The first step is to start the learning of languages since tender age)

Body

I. It is best to start language learning since tender age as young children are better learner
than adults.
A. Researches show that young children are able to grasp and cope with foreign language
easier compared to adults.
1. According to Erika Levy, assistant professor of speech and language pathology at
Columbia University Teachers College, in New York City, young children can
absorb easily whatever they hear, thus making it easy for them to learn different
languages at an amazingly fast rate,
2. Freudenstein (1979) and Genesee (1978) also suggested that an early start
combined with appropriate method leads to higher level of mastery.
B. Furthermore, the age between 0-4 years old is considered as critical period to learn
various languages.
1. During this period, the brain is capable to absorb any information easily and this
definitely helps in acquisition of foreign languages.
2. The research published in The Journal of Neuroscience in 2013 found that the
distribution of myelin the insulation that develops from birth within the circuitry
of the brain is fixed from the age of four, suggesting the brain is most plastic in
very early life thus they predicted that any environmental influences on brain
development will be strongest in infanthood.
(Transition: Still, even if we all are now adults, it is still not too late for us to master as many
languages as we want so long we strategise for it properly)
II. Proper strategy, in a way, helps in determining how many languages we can master in
certain period of time.
A. Initially, try for the easiest language that you think you can fluent in easily.
1. Factors to be considered are how much similar the language that you want to learn
to your mother tongue, your passion towards that language and resources that
available for you to study it.
2. This explains why English can be considered as an easy language to learn because
it alphabets and sounds are not so much different from Malay and we are widely
exposed to it.
B. In addition to that, we need to adopt a practical learning that will make it easier for us
to grasp the language.
1. Study by Gardner and Lambert (1972) showed learners are much more likely to
reach a high level of control of a variety of language when they are learning it in
order to become a member of the community speaking the language than when
they are learning it for some other purpose.
2. For instance, Mandarin, albeit being one of the hardest languages to learn, is still
being chosen by many because words of Michael Distefano, a Los Angeles-based
senior vice president at executive recruiting firm Korn/Ferry International, it
gives the speaker competitive advantage in job market against non-mandarin
speaker.
(Transition: Finally, the most important thing is to practice constantly languages that you
learned.)

III. Constant practice is the main key to make you a multilingual speaker
A. When you constantly practice languages that you had learned or currently learning,
you will easily able to fluently converse in it.
1. Benny Lewis, the author of Fluent in 3 Months and a multilingual himself,
strongly suggested that in order to be able to speak a new language, you must
practice it in real-life communication.
2. He also said that technical learning in formal environment without any practice in
real-life communication will hinder ones improvement in language.
B. Therefore we need to immerse ourselves in natural setting of the language in order for
us to converse in it comfortably.
1. Gardner (2000) suggested that the cultural context can have an effect on the
individuals ultimate success in learning the language.
2. Also a study by Munoz (2010) concluded that natural setting is better for language
learning as compared to instructed setting because it does not restrict the usage in
the classroom only.
Conclusion
I. Before I conclude, let me reiterate that to master more than one language is not
impossible
II. It can be done so long you start early with it, strategise properly on what to learn and
constantly practicing the languages, you can be a multilingual.
III. There is no need to wait further.
IV. We can start now in working towards nurturing a multilingual generation.
V. Before I end, allow me to inspire you with quote by Frank Smith, One language sets you
in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.

Bibliography
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Report
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Journal
Stefnsson, E. G. (2013). Second language acquisition: The effect of age and motivation.
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Briggs, H. (2013, October 9). Toddler brain scan gives language insight. Retrieved June 1,
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http://www.parents.com/toddlers-

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