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S U B S C R I B E
WRS stories about “language”
Is English the most economically viable second language?
Tuesday, 16 March, 2010
It turns out that depends which side of the röstigraben you’re on. The decades-old debate over which language to teach as a second language in Switzerland shows no signs of abating. Some argue the focus should always be on learning national languages, others insist English is so important that it should be given priority. Professor François Grin at the University of Geneva has spent four years assessing the language question from a purely economic point of view. WRS’s Carla Drysdale called on him to explain his findings to us:
Tuesday, 16 March, 2010
It turns out that depends which side of the röstigraben you’re on. The decades-old debate over which language to teach as a second language in Switzerland shows no signs of abating. Some argue the focus should always be on learning national languages, others insist English is so important that it should be given priority. Professor François Grin at the University of Geneva has spent four years assessing the language question from a purely economic point of view. WRS’s Carla Drysdale called on him to explain his findings to us:
English still finding its way in Switzerland—and vice versa
Wednesday, 11 November, 2009
Wednesday, 11 November, 2009
How important is English to Switzerland? Is it a threat to the Swiss national identity? Should it become an official language? Should it be taught in schools as the second language—above German or French? These questions and their implications affect equally—though often in different ways—both the Swiss national and expat communities. To consider those implications, WRS’s Conor Lennon brings to the discussion table:
- Yve Delaquis, translator and interpreter, Caralingua
- Felix Gutzwiller, Zurich Senator from the Liberals Party
- Prof. Dr. Georges Lüdi, Professor of French Linguistics at Basel University
Wednesday, 4 November, 2009
Should English be the first foreign language taught in Swiss schools? Mark Butcher and Michèle Mischler get opposing points of view from Guy Mettan, politican and member of the group Défense du Francais, and Dr. Daniel Stotz, a professor in the language department of the University of Zurich.
Stop, shop and learn German—free of charge
Tuesday, 13 October, 2009
Every Wednesday morning at the Letzipark mall in Zurich, a large group of men and women gather to learn German. Since January of 2009, the city’s Immigration and Integration services AOZ has been offering free German courses at the mall. WRS’s Michèle Mischler spoke with the project’s manager Cara Macmillan, and began by asking her how this came about:
Tuesday, 13 October, 2009
Every Wednesday morning at the Letzipark mall in Zurich, a large group of men and women gather to learn German. Since January of 2009, the city’s Immigration and Integration services AOZ has been offering free German courses at the mall. WRS’s Michèle Mischler spoke with the project’s manager Cara Macmillan, and began by asking her how this came about:
Switch to Swiss-German signage causes chaos
Friday, 24 July, 2009
Ambulances are getting lost, pedestrians are losing their way and residents getting annoyed—the changing of thousands of placenames on maps in the canton of Thurgau is upsetting lots of people. It began last year after the federal government decided they should be changed to Swiss-German. Which isn’t a written language, of course. To confuse matters further, in many cases a map will call a village by one name, while the street signs say something completely different. WRS’s Conor Lennon spoke to Hannes Steiner, Thurgau’s deputy canton archivist, and asked him about the problems all this confusion is causing.
Friday, 24 July, 2009
Ambulances are getting lost, pedestrians are losing their way and residents getting annoyed—the changing of thousands of placenames on maps in the canton of Thurgau is upsetting lots of people. It began last year after the federal government decided they should be changed to Swiss-German. Which isn’t a written language, of course. To confuse matters further, in many cases a map will call a village by one name, while the street signs say something completely different. WRS’s Conor Lennon spoke to Hannes Steiner, Thurgau’s deputy canton archivist, and asked him about the problems all this confusion is causing.
Wednesday, 1 July, 2009
WRS’s Jordan Davis invites Guy Mettan, Geneva politician and member of Défense du français, Felix Gutzwiller, Liberal party Senator from Zurich, and University of Geneva professor François Grin to discuss the idea of raising English to the level of a semi-official, or even official language.
Tuesday, 19 May, 2009
Natasha Proietto begins a new series delving into the mists of time to revisit key moments in Swiss history. Appropriately enough, today’s debut sees Natasha go right back to the beginning to early tribal settlers in the Alps, and the origins of the country’s modern linguistic divisions
Wednesday, 11 March, 2009
Michele Mischler is joined by Duff Gyr, Primary Principal at La Grande Boissière International School and middle school teacher Carlo Palusci for a discussion of how children can benefit from multi-lingual environments.
