Teachers root for foreign languages in syllabus

Teachers of French language in secondary schools in south western Uganda and Kabale University have asked the government to emphasis the teaching of foreign languages in the curriculum.

While attending the e-learning training of teachers of French in Mbarara District at the weekend, teachers indicated that there is unemployment of youth in the country because the Ministry of Education has failed to emphasise the importance of foreign languages to Ugandans.

‘’Modern languages are important for the development of this country. But Ugandans are being cheated by the government not declaring modern languages into our system. Our people are not being employed elsewhere because they are trained to fill the jobs in the local market and do not have the second international language,’’ Mr Moris Kaitaba, a lecturer of French at Kabale University, said.

He said if the Education ministry sets up a policy for other foreign languages to be taught in schools, it would help the youth to compete with other countries in the region for job opportunities.

‘’There is no policy in Uganda on the languages being taught in schools. Why can’t the Ministry of Eucation think of setting up a policy to liberate this country using the knowledge and open up spaces for our young people to work elsewhere?” Mr Kataiba said

The director of Kabale University Institute of Languages, the Rt Rev Prof Manuel Muranga, said foreign languages have added advantage.
“It is very important for us to know our mother tongue but it is also important to know other languages. Government needs to popularise foreign languages such as French so that people can understand its importance,’’ Prof Muranga said.

He said for Ugandans to appreciate foreign languages, we need to translate some of the literature in those languages to our mother tongue.
‘‘It is important for us to be linguistic patriots. Patriots for our mother tongue. But one way of promoting your mother tongue is translating literature in other languages into your mother tongue,’’ Mr Muranga said.

The patron of the French Club of Kabale University, Ms Christine Kyomukama, said languages are soft skills that anybody can use despite the profession he or she belongs. 

“I encourage everyone from different fields to learn foreign languages such as French because you  can use it in different fields. It is a soft skill that you need whether you are doing engineering, medicine, teaching or business,’’ she said.

The teacher of French at Acorns International School and Alliance Francaise Kampala, Mr Benis Batiri, said: ‘‘French is accessible because we have teachers from the neighbouring French-speaking countries who can teach.”

Importance
 According to the US Department of Education, research has shown that there are many benefits in speaking more than one language.

Learning multiple languages challenges the brain and improves cognitive and social-emotional development, learning, and the chances for long-term success. It also helps people develop a more flexible approach to problem-solving. “The ability to read and think in two (or more) different languages promotes higher levels of abstract thought, which is important in learning.”

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