Dear Sir,
Andrew Ede reports that the mother of some local schoolchildren, when asked about the introduction of teaching IN English, wondered how it could work, when neither teachers nor pupils can speak English well enough. (The Blog by Andrew Ede, Majorca Daily Bulletin, September 11). I am not so worried about the pupils, as my own children had no trouble switching from classes in English to classes in Castellano and Catalan and back again to English. What does worry me is whether there is a reliable supply of suitably trained teachers. If the so-called TIL (integrated treatment of languages) is to be introduced first in primary schools, then I think I know the answer. I read somewhere that President Bauza’s wife is an English teacher. Perhaps she could persuade her husband that this new scheme is not something that can be efficiently introduced overnight.
In Britain, in the 60s there was an experimental introduction of French in some primary schools, from the age of 8. It was subsequently concluded that pupils who had been taught French in primary school, did not reveal any substantial gain in mastery at the secondary stage, over those pupils who started at the age of 11. A lot of teachers had been sent on French language courses, but a few weeks in France was not enough to adequately prepare the teachers involved in the project. Of course most, if not all, parents want their children to leave school with communicative competence in English (which they do in most northern European countries) but this laudable objective will not be achieved by the introduction of a new scheme which is undertaken, as Andrew Ede says, “in an incoherent and hasty fashion.” And this is the main reason why the teachers’ unions are making such a fuss.
Yours faithfully,
George Tunnell, Ca’s Catala
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