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Magazine Contributors Frans Hertoghs Kiwikorrels: Snappez-vous?
Magazine Contributors Frans Hertoghs Kiwikorrels: Snappez-vous?
| Kiwikorrels: Snappez-vous? |
 Even New Zealand starts to become aware that foreign-language education could be important enough to start early. But, of course, only the kiwi-way.By Frans Hertoghs The language-knowledge of the average New-Zealander is depressing. Most don't manage more than ten words of Maori. But that is sort of ok. Everyone speaks English or at least a kind of English, and because almost all tourists speak English that hardly gives any problems. Kiwis belong to the most-monolingual people in the world.Here the foreign-language-education is, as a rule, of a pitiful quality. For instance the subject French. No French man will understand the kiwi teachers' pronunciation. Many of those teachers can hardly read a French newspaper or magazine, understand the news or a film. That is understandable. France is exactly on the other side of the world. The nearest French island Nouméa is still thousands of kilometres from here. And not a word of French, not even a French chanson, will be heard on the New Zealand TV or radio. And French-newspapers or magazines are very scarce - not to mention French books. Foreign languages are an optional subject at secondary schools. I asked many a kiwi about his foreign language knowledge. With exception of immigrants, and sometimes their children, nobody I have spoken to could hold a conversation or read a newspaper in any foreign language. At school they teach only two things in the foreign-language-department. The first is: that it is absolutely impossible to learn a foreign language (the teacher doesn't know much of it!). The second is: it is completely useless as you never will hear or see that foreign language. Finally, doesn't the entire world speak English? Foreign languages are dead languages. Yet something starts to change. If you categorically refuse to speak a word of Spanish or Chinese, how can you sell your wool, wine or lamb meat or your clean green New Zealand? The answer is so obvious, that Kiwis almost exclusively trade with other English-speaking areas, particularly Good Old England. And thanks to the EU that will be less and less. Therefore, more foreign languages in Kiwiland. But to be able to do this well one has to start early, they think. The attitude has to change. And for this reason courses have been made for the primary education. Learn young, learn fair. Bravo. Just one small problem: teachers don't speak any foreign language. Perhaps some French lessons when they were young, but so bad that they dare not speak a word, not to mention educating it. So they came to us -recognized Dutch linguistic geniuses- asking if we please would teach French. Coincidentally my wife is a French teacher and French was initially my second language. And for this reason we said yes. In a few weeks time we will be teaching: an hour or two per week, in all grades. For free of course, parent participation and for a good cause. The teachers will join the class. To take in some French. To be able to teach next year. Snappez-vous? The Dutch version of this article is published in the November/December 2007 edition of Holland Focus. Ask your News Agent or take out a subscription.
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