Dear Editor,
With reference to the letter titled ‘Pushing Spanish in schools is counterproductive to Guyana’s current security challenges’ (SN, 16/052024), I disagree with the arguments put forward by the writer, Mr. Changlee. Teaching foreign languages particularly, Spanish in public schools has nothing to do with Venezuela’s utterly ridiculous and illegal claims to Essequibo. Ideally, if the resources are available, schools should provide students with a rounded and quality education which includes exposure to a foreign language. In the school system, students are being prepared for the world of adulthood. We live in a globalised world where knowledge of another language could aid individuals when seeking professional and educational opportunities. Also, in their personal lives for travel and communication among other benefits.
Guyana is situated in South America which has 13 countries and in 9 of these Spanish is the official language. Then in nearby Latin and North America, 7 countries including Mexico and Panama have Spanish as their official language. Students who are learning Spanish are simply being equipped with another skill which could prove useful especially in the world of business and entrepreneurship. Right now, many store owners down Regent Street, including the Chinese and Indians, are learning Spanish because a large number of their customers are Spanish speakers. While I firmly believe that foreigners who chose to live and work in Guyana should integrate and learn our official language, that does not mean that we should remain narrow minded and restrict ourselves in this interconnected world by not learning foreign languages such as Spanish.
Nevertheless, like the writer, others often question why Hindi and Indigenous languages are not taught in the school system countrywide given our history and multiethnic society. I do not believe that there is ‘language discrimination’ but the issues are location, practicality and most importantly human resources (language teachers). Most public schools (secular institutions) have a multiethnic student population. Would it be practical to teach Hindi and Indigenous languages instead of Spanish or Portuguese to students in public schools countrywide? Unless they plan to go work and live in India how useful would the language be to them? Then again, English is taught extensively in India and is the language of business there. Similarly, apart from communicating with Amerindians in which other situations would these students use the Indigenous languages? Which country outside of Guyana? Learning indigenous languages or Hindi is more about heritage and the preservation of one’s culture that is related to particular ethnic groups and not everyone in general.
Editor, I am not undermining the value and importance of the culture, ancestral languages and traditions of the various ethnic groups in Guyana. I believe that Amerindian children should be taught the languages of their foreparents. In Amerindian villages isn’t this already happening? Aren’t they being taught their native languages by their elders, parents at home and Amerindian teachers in the public schools there? Then again, the school is not solely responsible for moulding children. Parents need to also take some responsibility for the education of their children and preservation of their culture.
Likewise, many Indo-Guyanese children learn Hindi from looking at Indian shows, their religious place of worship, cultural centre(s) or ‘Hindu School’ if they attend one of these. And there are other options, we live in the internet age where several foreign languages can be learnt from the comfort of one’s home. If parents want their children to learn a particular language that is not taught at school, then they need to take the initiative; find out where classes are offered and enroll your children, procure materials or browse the internet (YouTube, open learning sites etc) for courses.
It is unreasonable to demand that a particular foreign language be taught in schools and you don’t have the relevant personnel. Who is going to teach the subject? In many schools across Guyana, especially in rural areas, students are not even exposed to one foreign language simply because there aren’t qualified/capable teachers in this field. While in some secondary schools in Georgetown students are exposed to Spanish, French and Portuguese. What it boils down to is available human resources.
On the matter of which foreign language(s) should be placed on a school’s curriculum, what needs be considered are human resources (again) and location. For instance, in schools near the border with Brazil one would expect to have more teachers with knowledge of the Portuguese language and capable of teaching such hence, if not Spanish then Portuguese or both. And near the border with Suriname, if there aren’t sufficient teachers to teach Spanish, French or Portuguese but a few with knowledge of the Dutch language then this can be taught instead. One needs to examine the resources at hand and not make general pronouncements when there are differences in each education district. Editor, there isn’t anything sinister or wrong about learning a new language regardless of whichever it is.
Sincerely,
Narissa Deokarran
