The language of poets, Urdu is spoken all over the world by those of South Asian descent, and is a byproduct of Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, and Sanksrit. You may be asking yourself why speak a language when you aren't even living in that part of the world any longer. You grew up mostly speaking English and you've been fine so far, right? Well, we're here to tell you that there are SO many benefits to being bilingual and why you should teach Urdu to the next generation.
Why Should You & Your Kids Learn Urdu?
As an immigrant myself, I remember forcing my parents to only speak English if we wanted to fit in to this world. I was embarrassed when they would speak Urdu in public (now I'm embarrassed that I was embarrassed). Unfortunately, that meant letting go of a part of our culture. Luckily, my parents were adamant on speaking Urdu, Punjabi, and English in our home, so my brothers and I grew up bilingual/trilingual-ish. (I say "ish" because honestly sometimes I don't know if the word I'm using is Urdu or Punjabi because they were so intertwined in our speech at home!).
But there are plenty of benefits to being bilingual. Some of those include:
- Cognitive benefits. Studies show that being proficient in a second language taps into a part of your brain that being monolingual does not. Bilinguals can better multitask and typically have a better attention span. Part of this is because you are constantly switching from one language to another so that ability to code switch can translate seamlessly in an ability to switch between tasks or thoughts. Bilinguals also have stronger creative skills than monolinguals.
- Economic benefits. A second language often opens more job opportunities. Given that communication in the workplace is important and more and more companies are going global, employers look favorably on bilingual candidates. Additional languages on your child's resume can only put him/her at an advantage.
- Educational advantage. Those who learn a second or third language from a young age are able to develop long term communication skills and a higher degree of literacy than those who don't. Children whose households are bilingual develop an understanding of how language works and have a stronger foundation to learn additional languages in the future.
- Health benefits. Bilingualism has shown to delay the onset of dementia and Alzheimer's, for example, as well as allow for faster stroke recovery.
- Comfort being around different cultures. Bilinguals are used to constant change and being familiar with the unfamiliar. It becomes easier to connect with people from different cultures when you are connected through language or the ability to speak multiple languages.
If the reasons above aren't enough, know that the number of bilingual people in the U.S. is at an all-time high with about 64.7 million people ages five and up speaking more than one language fluently. That's almost one third of the country's population. Several bilingual schools (or dual language immersion programs) are opening up in the US in at least 39 states. Their students have shown that all the benefits above (and more) are prevalent in bilinguals.
What are some benefits you have seen as a bilingual person or family members who are bilingual? What challenges have you faced and how did you overcome them?
Other resources:
https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2018/how-second-language-can-boost-brain
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5532599/
https://www.participatelearning.com/blog/positive-impacts-of-dual-language-programs/