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We live in a world that is diverse and we always find ourselves in situations and places surrounded by people, patterns and pieces, like pieces of a puzzle that come together.
At the core of all that is human connection, one that is fostered by communication. Central to communication is language, and in reality, we are all living plurilingual lives.
Being plurilingual is having the ability to make connections between languages, to learn multiple languages and to use them in varied contexts, situations and places. Being plurilingual allows us to advance as individuals within a global economy, and build towards a richer professional, personal, and cultural life.
Learning a second language is not only an educational objective but also a useful tool in the workplace, within our growing economies, and a way for us to connect with and understand people and the cultures that surround us. This in turn improves relationships between people and between organizations as well as on a personal level, it helps to build metacognitive awareness in individuals. Now what does this mean for you?
Let’s discover why learning a second language, and becoming bilingual, can help you succeed and grow in an officially bilingual country.
Since the Official Languages Act took effect in Canada in 1969, the French and English languages have had equal status in all federal institutions. This law ensures that every Canadian has access to federal services in the official language of their choice. Last year, 2019- marked the 50th anniversary of the Act, and a push towards modernizing the policy, while keeping both official languages at the core of Canadian Bilingualism. Many policies have continued to allow French in Canada as being an important and valuable characteristic of Canadian identity.
“Some 84% of Canadians believe speaking French and English offers a better chance of finding a good job, says a 2006 survey by the Commissioner of Official Languages. Some 89% think those with any two languages will have more success ‘in today's global economy’.” (The Globe and Mail, 2011)
Due to demographic shifts in Canada, we as a society have adopted a cultural mosaic view which enables us all to live plurilingual lives, while still integrating with and attaining the advantages of being bilingual.
While learning more than one language has many cognitive benefits, increases intercultural competence, and facilitates communication, it also provides better opportunities for you in the workplace and will expand the possibilities for your career path in Canada, and beyond.
Marketing yourself as bilingual also shows that you come with “extra qualities” – such as being adaptable, able, sensible, and having good social skills. Being bilingual is not something that goes unnoticed by employers and companies. A statistic published in the Globe and Mail points out “in the rest of Canada, men who know both languages earn an average income 3.8% higher than those who know English only. Bilingual women earn 6.6 % more.”
As a rise in demand of growing economies by building connections with the world is relevant today, becoming bilingual in your own home country surely has its benefits. What’s important to note is the sense of developing a bilingual identity, “while affiliating with a plurality of other identities as well”. (Dagenais, 2013)
