Language of instruction: Need for more flexibility

Editor, RE: “Being multilingual offers more career options” (The New Times, February 17). I am an American. I was raised in a Franco-American community and am bilingual: French and English. I also studied Spanish at the university as well as a bit of Polish. All of these languages have opened doors to new opportunities. Every time I applied for a job, I always indicated that I spoke other languages and this gave me an edge most of the time, at least it got me a second interview.I really appreciated this article and will have my high school French students read it. Christine B. ********************* “We may not be able to teach all the languages in the world, but it is important that we put emphasis on the official languages we do teach—French and English—because we have yet to reach our target.” This dictum given by Samuel Nkurunziza, the headmaster of Kagarama Secondary School, would be a wonderful guidance for the Rwandan society. In my opinion, the uncompromising shift from French to English as the medium of instruction shouldn’t have been hurried — it had to be gradual. I would not criticize that the decision-makers put more emphasis on the teaching of English, which may be considered as a useful measure particularly with regard to the geopolitical position of your country. While Nigeria, the most populous African country, is about to make French compulsory in schools, Rwanda is giving away its advantages. I praise the Government of Rwanda for reintroducing French in the O-Level. But it would be wise to continue teaching Francophone students in French while their Anglophone counterparts could have an education in English. The competence of both sides has to be strengthened in order that everybody learns from the others’ skills and excellences. In the peaceful environment Rwanda is enjoying, you can work wonders. If I were still young I would like to contribute to a multilingual education in your country. Kian-Harald Karimi

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Language of instruction: Need for more flexibility