The importance of home language.

After reading "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan, many issues were addressed that can be discussed about, and in this case I would like to talk about the importance of home language. Now for people that are from English speaking countries, that is their home language and it is spoken by over a billion people worldwide. But for other people that are born anywhere else around the world, it may be a challenge to communicate in their language, depending on the region they are from and how "popular" their language is . We live today in a world where it is similar to a small village, information circulates quickly and traveling has become easier, giving people opportunity to live in other countries and even raise a family while moving. Chances are by being an expatriate, the children won't have the same education and circumstances as their parents , which may make them unable to learn their mother language, or not make them learn the same way as the people back home do . I think that it is very easy to neglect learning the home language, and the more the individual has grown up, the harder it becomes to learn languages, because children pick up languages quicker than adults. I think that the home language is very important, it is a part of the individual's culture as well as identity and without it, the individual finds himself in the confusion, not completely fitting in with their original culture or the one they are surrounded by. Speaking one's home language contributes to the conservation of the language, as even if one person not speaking it might seem like a small number, but once it adds up it will make a difference. Most of the time, the excuse that can be heard is that learning two languages at a young age may be confusing to the child, but I disagree because being exposed to bilingualism does not cause delayed speech. Once the individual hits a certain age, learning languages becomes harder and life becomes more hectic, not making time for learning it. Now I'm not saying in any way that someone that doesn't speak their own home language doesn't have an identity or culture, but I think that being in that situation can be very frustrating. Even if the individual does not visit their home country often, I don't think it's a valid excuse even if myself I have learnt Arabic up until at a late age, which until today is a regret my parents have made during my upbringing. Studying the home language will make individuals more metalinguistic aware and will make the approach to other languages easier. It also gives the opportunity to think in a new language and be able to be apart of the heritage and understand the mentality of the language. Sure you can learn Spanish at school for example but maybe once you travel to Mexico you will realise after talking to the locals there are a few nuances you might not understand because you don't know the mentality of the language. It feels good to have a personal connection with your home language because it gives you a connection with your country, therefore your roots and obviously your family back home. The rise of the English language has made people feel less the need to learn their mother language especially not living in the country where they are from, but I think that is wrong. I am very pro-multilingualism, I think that being able to speak fluently two languages or more is something that should be a lot more encouraged. Myself I speak three languages and it has given me a love for languages and a bigger appreciation of them. Each and every one of them has it's own vocabulary grammar (that is the only sad part, try learning French or Arabic grammar) and mentality, I mean sure it is very easy to open your laptop and translate something, but the essence of the language while doing that is lost and you cannot enjoy it. Your home language is priceless, and if you have the opportunity to learn it it should be taken, because the long term benefit is definitely worth it.