Will It Be English For “The Conversation” About Refugees ?
15 hours after the posting of this article by Wente — http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-refugee-tide-turns-in-germany/article26761039/comments/?ord=1 — the most popular comment by “Think_First” has garnered 201 approvals from readers 201 +, 17- for a score of 184, out of 373 comments so far: 1:45 PST).
This is the key point “Think_First” makes — “ . . . mass, uncontrolled immigration can lead to widespread social problems and crime, even in countries like Germany and Canada. No, it is not xenophobic to have a conversation about it.”
I agree. We need that conversation everywhere. Wente describes the demographics — "Only a small number of the newcomers are well-educated professionals. Many more are illiterate, traumatized, children, or old. The majority are young men, with few skills and nothing to do."
Now the question arises — which language will “the conversation” engage? Since it’s reported that 2/3 of the European Union speaks English, will it be English in the ABE (Adult Basic Education) classes and SLL (Second Language Learning) for immigrant school children? English does appear to be the “lingua franca” of international business, science, technology and aviation and likely most Germans speak English.
One can only hope that practical Germans will continue to use a phonetic approach to the teaching of English and consistently avoid other teaching styles. Since 2002 they have outlawed the Whole-Language method. W-L was tried in 80's but after disastrous results was declared bad practice.” (Unfortunately, North America has not similarly banned this method, accounting for considerable, persistent illiteracy.)
I’ll be looking for reports about the language training issue in Germany and its refugee challenge. I’m sure the classes will be quick, effective and efficient. We can learn from them — not only in language teaching but how problem-solving proceeds from shared language.