Last summer, the first European study on the contribution of multilingualism to creativity was finally completed.
Launched in the framework of the European Year for Creativity and Innovation, the research mainly examines what scientific reporting reveals, what people think, and how multilingualism contributes to creativity through examples from European life. It reveals that one of the potential sources fuelling innovation and creativity is multilingualism. “Thinking, learning, problem solving and communicating, all of which are transversal knowledge-steeped skills used in our daily lives, show signs of enhancement through multilingualism”, the study explains.
The authors of the study suggest that the Commission sponsors activities related to this field and also further investigates the contribution of multilingualism to creativity through the European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme. An analysis of “the economic, social policy, health, statistical and language policies of the EU” should also be carried, they propose, with a view to “demonstrating the causal relationship and role of multilingualism as human capital in the EU.”
With regard to EU Member States, the study proposes to set up a group of national experts involved in language teaching and learning to consider the implications of the findings for education practice. Another group could also look into its impact on the articulation of language policies.
The study is available at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/education/languages/news/news3653/report_en.pdf