Consider an international language class

Growing up Justine Rukundo’s family had friends who were French. It was interesting to hear them speak, a reason Rukundo fell in love with French at a young age.

Unfortunately for her, she did not get an opportunity to study French in all the schools she attended. But last year Rukundo decided to catch up and enrolled at Alliance Francaise in Kampala.
“I got tired of struggling to get an interpreter whenever I travelled to Anglophone countries. Besides I am looking at French as a language that will open for me doors to bigger opportunities,” she says.

Similarly, Martin Kaddu was a lecturer of French at the Institute of Languages Makerere University before going to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to work as an interpreter at the African Union Commission. Kaddu says his interest in the language started during his days at St Marys College, Kisubi.

He studied the language from Senior One to Senior Six and later at Makerere University.
“I did not know that French would shape my lifetime career. When the job was advertised, I became the most suitable candidate because I could speak English and French,” Kaddu recounts.

The dynamics of employment have changed, and now people are earning from knowing some international languages and a few indigenous ones. If you are not proficient in Chinese, you may find it very difficult to trade in China for instance. The same applies to French, Swahili, and German, among others.

The Ugandan curriculum provides for learning of a language at O-Level but most students drop the foreign languages because of complexities and lack of interest.

According to Richard Lubega, the deputy head teacher in charge of academics at Naalya Secondary School, Bweyogere, many students claim some of these languages are difficult to understand. “We have provided the foundation for learning these languages but students pay little attention,” he said

Two birds, one stone
Students at Makerere University have a good opportunity to learn these languages because they can attend language classes alongside regular classes.
This is what enabled Vanessa Bayiga, a graduate of Bachelor of Library and Information Science from Makerere University to study French.

“The language expands your understanding especially in aspects of culture. It has also put me in a different social class because I can express myself in a language that many of my friends cannot. I also earn some extra money from teaching children privately,” she says. Bayiga, says she charges Shs25,000 a day to tutor a child.

Elvis Ndyanabo, a private Swahili tutor, says fluency in a foreign language such as Swahili creates great opportunities of sponsorship in foreign countries. “We live in a global village and one needs to be informed. The best avenue for this would be through learning foreign languages,” he asserts.
Language is something you learn and it cannot be taken away from you. That extra language may come in handy when competing for a job.

More benefits
Godfrey Ssali, a private Chinese tutor and motivational speaker, says as far as effective communication is concerned, it is good for one to know at least two extra languages away from their native ones. He suggests that some of these languages should be made compulsory in schools. People who give career guidance to students should channel their efforts to emphasising the importance of languages in careers. He says China is a centre of focus in as far as business is concerned therefore studying and fluency in Chinese is increasingly becoming a gem.