MADRID From Madrid Snare and by Rafael Canomanuel the family ponders the one-year-old Ralph– his son’s language education.
A Finnish mother and a Spanish father believe that a bilingual home is the basis for learning other languages.
– We want to raise him to be multilingual. Ralph learns Finnish and Spanish at home. Fluent English is important.
– He has already gradually received Chinese language lessons, even though he is small. I think it would be good for him to learn Russian too. It’s a big language, says Paula Canomanuel.
In Spain, learning foreign languages is burdened by history. According to Paula and Rafael, Spaniards have long been lulled into the idea that Spanish is a world language and that’s enough.
Paula thinks that Spanish people don’t want to speak English. Rafael denies.
– No, it doesn’t work like that. The desire is there, but the skill is lacking. We Spaniards have always taken the language beyond our borders. We are conquistadors, i.e. a nation of conquerors, Rafael says.
– Of course, put down your weapon. You are no longer conquerors, Paula throws.
– Now let’s admit that Spanish is a world language. It is spoken in South America and the United States, Rafael states.
Ralph, who is used to Spanish-style market meetings, sits on his father’s lap. The school desk is more interested in the Moomin toy and the treats on the plate.
– We in Spain have nothing against English. I wish my child the best possible education and extensive language skills that will help him, says Rafael Canomanuel.
Iina and Javier are satisfied with the bilingual kindergarten
They run their own architectural office upstairs in their home in Madrid Iina Immonen and Javier Pardo rely on bilingual early childhood education and elementary school in the autonomous region of Madrid. The family’s two-year-old Javier is in an English-Spanish kindergarten.
– Already at the door, children are greeted in two languages. Two days a week there is an English language bath, says Iina.
– Employees do not change constantly. Javier has had the same group leader for many years, Javier thanks.
Iina and Javier are happy that the bilingual schools are free of charge and part of the public elementary school.
The lack of English does not hinder the pace between the family either. The family reacts with humor to the situations that the lack of English brings to the family of two countries.
– Iina’s parents speak English, my parents don’t, says Javier.
– We still have a lot of fun together, Iina laughs.
– I’ll put Spanish delicacies and good wine on the table, and things will go smoothly. At the same time, my parents encourage me to learn English. Iina’s mother is studying Spanish in Finland, Javier adds.
Each autonomous region has a different education system
Spain has been developing bilingual schools for a couple of decades as a solution to the challenges of the English language.
The Spanish school system is not uniform. The country has 17 self-governing regions and each has a different education system. Teacher training differs by region.
The state’s education policy changes every four years when governments change.
Different learning methods produce different results. English language pedagogies have developed, but in international comparisons, Spanish children’s English learning results are still weak.
INE of the National Statistical Institute of a recent survey (you switch to another service) according to 56.6 percent of Spanish children and youth aged 10-19 say they do not speak English at all.
International For the Education First survey (you switch to another service) 111 countries participate annually for English language skills. Spain is ranked 33rd. It is among the weakest in the EU. Finland is in 8th place. The Netherlands leads the statistics.
There is a dubbing culture in movies and television shows. You can’t hear the language anywhere. Video games in English can help a bit.
Spain is a multilingual country. In addition to Spanish, Basque, Catalan and Galician are spoken in the country. Still, some parents doubt the benefits of bilingual schools.
In the autonomous regions of Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and Navarre, 90 primary schools closed bilingual education and returned to the single language of instruction, Spanish.
According to the authorities, bilingual education has caused learning difficulties for children in these schools.