EFL sparks debate in Switzerland
A debate is raging in Switzerland over the teaching of English at primary school level. Legislation is being introduced aiming to protect Switzerland’s national languages German, French, Italian and Romansh, and includes a proposal to give one of these languages preference over English in foreign language teaching.
Supporters are arguing that national languages should be given priority as many young people have trouble communicating in them, and worry that the national languages could be eclipsed by English.
But several regions have already introduced English at primary school level.
So, in a country with four national languages, should children be taught two of these before considering English, or should English take priority? What do you think? Post a comment below…
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December 22nd, 2006 at 9:25 am
Surely all Swiss people have one of the national languages as their mother tongue, right? So, if this is suficient to function in Swiss society, then I don’t see any reason why they should be forced either to learn a second national language in preference to English, or to learn English in preference to a second national language. The choice should be entirely theirs (well, their parents maybe, if we’re talking about primary school) based on what they think is best for their kids’ future.