Out of 19 German-speaking cantons, only 12 currently teach French as a second language in primary schools, and more are thinking of abandoning it in favour of English, which has angered critics.
“This situation is one of the effects of globalisation, which leads to a loss of identity, Christophe Darbellay, president of the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Education, told Swiss newspaper Le Tribune de Genève.
Frédéric Borloz, head of Vaud’s Department of Education and Vocational Training, told the paper that “learning another national language is a necessity in Switzerland in the name of national cohesion.”
Switzerland has four national languages: German, French, Italian, and Romansh
“Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean we should back down. It is the responsibility of our cantons to find solutions to improve the teaching of German in French-speaking Switzerland, and French in German-speaking Switzerland,” he said.
Others share this concern, believing that dropping so-called ‘early French’, what the German-speaking population calls French taught in primary schools, could lead to a loss of identity.
“It is in this kind of situation that we must remember what our country is: learning the national languages is much more than an educational issue; it is a foundation of our Willensnation [a nation forged by the will of the people],” Christophe Darbellay, Valais state councillor and president of the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Education, told the paper.
READ ALSO: How did Switzerland become a country with four languages?
The plans to drop French are currently only in draft stage in most cantons, but Appenzell Innerrhoden and Uri have already implemented the switch to English over French.
If more cantons move to favour English then this would bring the inter-cantonal concordat – an agreement reached in 2004 – crashing down. This stipulates, among other things, that two foreign languages must be introduced in primary school – one of the languages has to be a national language.
Advertisement
So, what’s the situation currently? In French-speaking Switzerland, German is the first language taught in schools, but over in German-speaking Switzerland, only a minority teach French as the first language.
Only the bilingual cantons of Bern, Fribourg, and Valais, and the neighbouring cantons of French-speaking Switzerland, such as Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft, and Basel-Stadt, teach French first, Le Tribune de Genève said.
All of the other German-speaking cantons give precedence to teaching English.
READ ALSO: How is English taught in Swiss primary schools?
Meanwhile, a survey carried out in Basel-City and Basel-Country – two cantons which are close to France – and published at the end of June underlined this preference.
Two-thirds of the almost 900 residents polled (over 80 percent of whom were teachers) were against the continued teaching of two foreign languages in primary school.
Further, if only one foreign language were to be taught, 53.1 percent preferred English over French, with only 34.5 percent choosing French as the language to be kept.
The survey was conducted by Starke Schule beider Basel, an association which is active in educational issues and describes itself as “critical” of the 2004 agreement.
