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S U B S C R I B E
WRS stories about language
Could you pass the language test to become Swiss?
Wednesday, 15 May, 2013
The canton of Zurich has come up with a standardised German test for foreign nationals who want to become Swiss. At the moment, local communiites can come up with their own test, and it differs across the canton. Some places hold a half-hour conversation with applicants, some set a written and oral exam based on third-party advice. The aim of this new development is to make the citizenship process a bit more transparent and fair. WRS’s Jo Fahy spoke to Otto Hänseler, head of naturalization for the cantonal municipalities:
Wednesday, 15 May, 2013
The canton of Zurich has come up with a standardised German test for foreign nationals who want to become Swiss. At the moment, local communiites can come up with their own test, and it differs across the canton. Some places hold a half-hour conversation with applicants, some set a written and oral exam based on third-party advice. The aim of this new development is to make the citizenship process a bit more transparent and fair. WRS’s Jo Fahy spoke to Otto Hänseler, head of naturalization for the cantonal municipalities:
Romansh celebrates 75 years as a national language
Wednesday, 20 February, 2013
Romansh became Switzerland’s fourth national language 75 years ago today. Just over 91 percent voted in favour. But how well is Romansh faring today, given that, according to statistics, just 0.6 percent of the population still speaks it regularly? WRS’s Dave Goodman is joined by linguist Rico Valär, who’s about to publish a book on how and why Romansh became a national language back in 1938:
Wednesday, 20 February, 2013
Romansh became Switzerland’s fourth national language 75 years ago today. Just over 91 percent voted in favour. But how well is Romansh faring today, given that, according to statistics, just 0.6 percent of the population still speaks it regularly? WRS’s Dave Goodman is joined by linguist Rico Valär, who’s about to publish a book on how and why Romansh became a national language back in 1938:
Controversy grows over separating kids for German lessons
Wednesday, 6 February, 2013
Schools in the canton of Zurich are sending children who can’t speak German to intensive private language lessons. They don’t come cheap, and it means children are separated from the rest of their classmates. WRS’s Jo Fahy has been following the story:
Wednesday, 6 February, 2013
Schools in the canton of Zurich are sending children who can’t speak German to intensive private language lessons. They don’t come cheap, and it means children are separated from the rest of their classmates. WRS’s Jo Fahy has been following the story:
Zurich's top English marks due to robust economy
Tuesday, 18 December, 2012
Zurich is the best city in the world when it comes to proficiency in English. That’s according to a new index of 25 cities compiled by Education First which runs language schools in 55 countries. So what makes Zurich so special? WRS’s Dave Goodman spoke to Alex Blattman, who is EF’s marketing manager in Zurich and began by asking him how the index was compiled:
Tuesday, 18 December, 2012
Zurich is the best city in the world when it comes to proficiency in English. That’s according to a new index of 25 cities compiled by Education First which runs language schools in 55 countries. So what makes Zurich so special? WRS’s Dave Goodman spoke to Alex Blattman, who is EF’s marketing manager in Zurich and began by asking him how the index was compiled:
Teachers' union up in arms over English, German classes
Wednesday, 15 August, 2012
Primary school teachers in French-speaking Switzerland are up in arms over the teaching of foreign languages. As of this term, every eight-year-old will be taught German. And as of next year, every ten-year-old will learn English. So what could be wrong with that? Plenty, says the teachers’ union. WRS’s Adam Beaumont spoke to the union’s secretary-general, Jean-Marc Haller, to find out why:
Wednesday, 15 August, 2012
Primary school teachers in French-speaking Switzerland are up in arms over the teaching of foreign languages. As of this term, every eight-year-old will be taught German. And as of next year, every ten-year-old will learn English. So what could be wrong with that? Plenty, says the teachers’ union. WRS’s Adam Beaumont spoke to the union’s secretary-general, Jean-Marc Haller, to find out why:
Self-help group aims to reconcile Swiss and German differences
Tuesday, 17 July, 2012
There are about 30,000 Germans living in the city of Zurich. That number leaps to more than 75,000 if you take the canton of Zurich as a whole. But many of them don’t always feel welcome. Victims of anti-German sentiment have become a reality in Switzerland. So what can be done to reconcile the two cultures? Well, one man thinks he may have the answer. Michael Engler has launched a self-help group that will bring together both Germans and Swiss. The group meets for the first time this evening. Mr Engler talks to WRS’s Jo Fahy:
Tuesday, 17 July, 2012
There are about 30,000 Germans living in the city of Zurich. That number leaps to more than 75,000 if you take the canton of Zurich as a whole. But many of them don’t always feel welcome. Victims of anti-German sentiment have become a reality in Switzerland. So what can be done to reconcile the two cultures? Well, one man thinks he may have the answer. Michael Engler has launched a self-help group that will bring together both Germans and Swiss. The group meets for the first time this evening. Mr Engler talks to WRS’s Jo Fahy:
English a 'bridging' language for Switzerland
Wednesday, 23 May, 2012
Switzerland remains well ahead of other European countries when it comes to being multilingual, according to a new study. This is perhaps not very surprising with four national languages. But the research also suggests that official Swiss languages are losing more and more ground to English when it comes to the workplace. Those conclusions are part of a huge study called “Language Rich Europe”—carried out across 24 European countries and regions by the British Council and the Babylon Centre at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. For her thoughts on the role of English in Switzerland, WRS’s Dave Goodman spoke to Virginie Borel, head of the Bilingualism Forum in Biel. She told him there’s definitely a place for English but Switzerland should hold on to its linguistic heritage:
Wednesday, 23 May, 2012
Switzerland remains well ahead of other European countries when it comes to being multilingual, according to a new study. This is perhaps not very surprising with four national languages. But the research also suggests that official Swiss languages are losing more and more ground to English when it comes to the workplace. Those conclusions are part of a huge study called “Language Rich Europe”—carried out across 24 European countries and regions by the British Council and the Babylon Centre at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. For her thoughts on the role of English in Switzerland, WRS’s Dave Goodman spoke to Virginie Borel, head of the Bilingualism Forum in Biel. She told him there’s definitely a place for English but Switzerland should hold on to its linguistic heritage:
Justice chief explains why foreigners should speak national language
Monday, 19 March, 2012
Moving from one country to another can be stressful. But at least if it’s Switzerland you’re coming to and languages aren’t your thing, it’s comforting to know just how many here speak English remarkably well. However, Simonetta Sommaruga, the Federal Councillor responsible for immigration issues has been calling for all foreigners moving into Switzerland to learn a national language. Reporter Andrew Craven talks to her at the Federal Office of Justice:
Monday, 19 March, 2012
Moving from one country to another can be stressful. But at least if it’s Switzerland you’re coming to and languages aren’t your thing, it’s comforting to know just how many here speak English remarkably well. However, Simonetta Sommaruga, the Federal Councillor responsible for immigration issues has been calling for all foreigners moving into Switzerland to learn a national language. Reporter Andrew Craven talks to her at the Federal Office of Justice:
Should struggling Zurich students be allowed to drop French?
Tuesday, 24 January, 2012
The Green Liberal and teacher Christoph Ziegler has reignited a fierce debate about who should speak which national languages. He believes French should be optional for teenagers who are already struggling at school. WRS’s Jo Fahy asked him why:
Tuesday, 24 January, 2012
The Green Liberal and teacher Christoph Ziegler has reignited a fierce debate about who should speak which national languages. He believes French should be optional for teenagers who are already struggling at school. WRS’s Jo Fahy asked him why:
Valais town keeps patois alive with kids learning the lingo
Tuesday, 24 January, 2012
In the French speaking part of the canton of Valais, efforts are being made to keep alive the local patois. The patois is not a dialect of French but of the separate language Franco-Provencal which is also spoken in parts of eastern France and Northern Italy. In Switzerland the number of patois speakers is declining rapidly though in one or two places like the village of Evolène it is still fairly widely spoken. That’s why the town has been chosen for a pilot project—as WRS’s Vincent Landon reports:
Tuesday, 24 January, 2012
In the French speaking part of the canton of Valais, efforts are being made to keep alive the local patois. The patois is not a dialect of French but of the separate language Franco-Provencal which is also spoken in parts of eastern France and Northern Italy. In Switzerland the number of patois speakers is declining rapidly though in one or two places like the village of Evolène it is still fairly widely spoken. That’s why the town has been chosen for a pilot project—as WRS’s Vincent Landon reports:
School scores provoke rethinking language lessons
Tuesday, 6 December, 2011
The cantonal results of how 15-year-olds are doing in school came out yesterday—and it wasn’t good news for Geneva or Zurich. The PISA tests are used to assess students all over the world on their reading, maths and science skills. WRS’s Jo Fahy reports:
Tuesday, 6 December, 2011
The cantonal results of how 15-year-olds are doing in school came out yesterday—and it wasn’t good news for Geneva or Zurich. The PISA tests are used to assess students all over the world on their reading, maths and science skills. WRS’s Jo Fahy reports:
Draft rules for non-EU foreigners require national language
Thursday, 24 November, 2011
The federal government has unveiled a draft version of new integration requirements for foreigners from outside the EU. Foreigners would be expected to not rely on welfare, to respect the rules and also be able to use a national language to communicate. Otherwise they could have problems renewing their visas. WRS’s Jordan Davis spoke with Adrian Gerber of the Federal Migration Office about the draft policy:
Thursday, 24 November, 2011
The federal government has unveiled a draft version of new integration requirements for foreigners from outside the EU. Foreigners would be expected to not rely on welfare, to respect the rules and also be able to use a national language to communicate. Otherwise they could have problems renewing their visas. WRS’s Jordan Davis spoke with Adrian Gerber of the Federal Migration Office about the draft policy:
The Connectors: Tips on learning the local lingo
Thursday, 15 September, 2011
The Connectors talk about learning the language of the locals and get an update on recent expat Michael’s progress on mastering French. The team give out tips and shortcuts to learning based on their own experiences:
Thursday, 15 September, 2011
The Connectors talk about learning the language of the locals and get an update on recent expat Michael’s progress on mastering French. The team give out tips and shortcuts to learning based on their own experiences:
The Connectors: Learning the lingo
Thursday, 21 October, 2010
The Connectors talk about learning languages, the difficulties they’ve had (knowing too many can even be a hindrance!), the mistakes they’ve made and they give a few tips and hints on how to learn a language—plus advice for parents on whether to put children in a foreign language or international school.
Thursday, 21 October, 2010
The Connectors talk about learning languages, the difficulties they’ve had (knowing too many can even be a hindrance!), the mistakes they’ve made and they give a few tips and hints on how to learn a language—plus advice for parents on whether to put children in a foreign language or international school.
Debate: High German or Swiss German for kindergarten?
Wednesday, 20 October, 2010
Dialect is disappearing, according to the youth section in Lucerne of the right-wing Swiss Peoples Party. They have launched an initiative to ban High German from kindergartens. There are similar moves afoot in Zurich—and Basel City’s cantonal government is due to debate the issue this week or next. This comes in the face of recent tests by the Programme for International Student Assessment that ranked Switzerland well down in reading proficiency. So should young children be exposed to High German or should they speak German dialect and preserve their identity? We hear from Rolf Jucker, Liberal MP. We also hear from Heike Behrens, Chair of Cognitive Linguistics and Language Acquisition Research at the University of Basel:
Wednesday, 20 October, 2010
Dialect is disappearing, according to the youth section in Lucerne of the right-wing Swiss Peoples Party. They have launched an initiative to ban High German from kindergartens. There are similar moves afoot in Zurich—and Basel City’s cantonal government is due to debate the issue this week or next. This comes in the face of recent tests by the Programme for International Student Assessment that ranked Switzerland well down in reading proficiency. So should young children be exposed to High German or should they speak German dialect and preserve their identity? We hear from Rolf Jucker, Liberal MP. We also hear from Heike Behrens, Chair of Cognitive Linguistics and Language Acquisition Research at the University of Basel:
