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Momodou
Denmark
11832 Posts |
 Posted - 25 Nov 2008 : 23:08:46
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I have been informed that children of Gambian immigrants in Stockholm are taught in Gambian local languages such as Mandinka and Wollof. I came accross the article below from an issue of The Lundian Magazine on mother tongue education in Sweden and thought some of you might be interested to know about it.
Mother Tongue Education
Important To Maintain
The Hemspråk Reform was introduced in 1976, and in 1977 it became the child´s right to be taught in his/her mother tongue. In 1985 the Swedish Parliament decided that school teaching should be characterized by an intercultural outlook, whilst mother tongue got a syllabus and grade criteria of its own.
"New rules"
On the 10th of March the Swedish Parliament announced that the national minority languages in Sweden should be placed on an equal footing along with mother tongue in both the nine-year compulsory school and in the upper secondary school. This change specifi ed that Finnish and Yiddisch ere exceptions from the requirement that a student´s mother tongue should function as the language spoken at home, to get the municipality to offer the education. At least five students have to apply for mother tongue in a specifi c language, for them to be able to have lessons in that mother tongue. These new rules will take effect on July 1st, 2008 due to Sweden's treaty obligations to protect minorities and minority languages as mandated in several European human rights instruments.
Immense joy being a mother tongue-teacher
Elaine Bosak is a retired mother tongue-teacher of the English language. She started out in 1979 and she worked in 22 schools in Lund. Towards the end of her career it narrowed down to 9. Elaine tells us that you choose to have instruction in your mother tongue because you want to maintain and develop your language, and that everyone who uses their mother tongue as the main language at home qualifies to participate in the education. You have to have a connection to the language, you cannot join to learn a completely new one.
What does the law say about the education? Should it be taught in a special way?
"The law does not tell you how to teach. It only tells you that it is supposed to happen during school hours and about 40 minutes a week. Larger groups have 80 minutes a week.
You might say it is too little, but there is no room for more. Other subjects in school have their hours so you have to stick to the 40 minutes. Of course it helps if you use the language at home while getting the education".
Are there good and bad results in the mother tongue education? Do the students take it seriously?
"Yes, the students take it seriously and there are almost no "bad results", since the students that lack interest and find it harder to keep up or attend lessons after school tend to drop out after a while. However, problems appear for the teachers when travelling between schools. The cell phone made it much easier for me to get in touch with students and teachers.
You can wonder if the number of mother tongue teachers is enough. You often hear students expressing opinions, saying there are not enough teachers on certain occasions. Elaine tells us that there are some 60 teachers in 35 languages in Lund. In the larger languages you have about 5 teachers and in the smaller ones you have fewer".
Where do you think the students learn the most - at home or at school?
"School and home work as a team. They complement each other. In the home you get the basics, like in any other language. For example, if Swedish is your mother tongue, you learn the language at home and when you get to school you continue to build on your knowledge. You learn more vocabulary, grammar, reading, and writing. You learn both at home and in school, you might say. It also depends on the interest and ability of the student, as in any other subject".
Do you think it is important to maintain your mother tongue?
"Yes, of course. You should maintain it both through school and your home. It is important for your identity. Having contact with your native country is also an advantage when it comes to keeping your language".
What is it like to be a mother tongue teacher?
"It's a lot of fun, hard work and at the same time very interesting. My students ranged from the ages of 6 to 16. The students have so much energy that it is contagious. Every day is different, and every pupil/group is special". There is no comparison between learning at school and learning at home Knowing the students opinions about the education is both important and interesting. Samir Morina is 18 years old and currently finishing his final year at Bergagymnasiet in Eslöv.
His mother tongue is Albanian, since he originally comes from Kosova. Samir took part in mother tongue instruction until 9th grade on Sätoftaskolan in Höör.
Do you feel that you got any benefits from being taught in your mother tongue?
"Yes I do. We learned to use the Albanian language the right way and we read and wrote a lot. The teacher had many lessons where we talked about grammar".
But do you feel that you learned most when you communicated at home, or is that a different kind of learning?
"You learn a lot when you talk at home, but there is no way to compare that learning with the one at school. In school the teachers have a certain plan which tells us what we are supposed to learn and how we are supposed to learn it.
When you talk at home you often use slang, just like every other home which makes it different. We can use some words at home which do not even come from the Albanian language and in that way I feel that mother tongue education is important".
What do you have to say about the range? Should one schedule more time for mother tongue and do you feel that there are enough teachers?
"I had mother tongue once a week for about 60 minutes, but I feel that you could make it into a regular lesson and have it twice a week instead. I remember that it worked out fine with the teacher and since we were not as many students the teacher had time for everyone. It was not as messy as it could be during other lessons and the teacher was good.
However, a bad thing for me was that we mixed the ages of the students and on that note I do feel that there could be more teachers for mother tongue".
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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Santanfara
3460 Posts |
Posted - 16 Dec 2008 : 20:57:52
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| This is interesting. when will we start learning in our mother tongue? |
Surah- Ar-Rum 30-22
"And among His signs is the creation of heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. verily, in that are indeed signs for men of sound knowledge." Qu'ran
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