Language politics in the European countries chiefly consists of teaching English, to the detriment of all the other languages. English is now imposed in primary schools. It becomes even more serious in universities where it becomes the exclusive teaching language in all faculties. We resign ourselves to the realities of "linguistic diversity", even though this is a goal of the European Commission, and this sacrifice doesn’t even make it possible for Europeans to communicate effectively.
Not long ago, Italy dedicated to English the hours for learning a foreign language ; the young Italians will be able only to learn English. And now France has the goal of creating a "bilingual nation" according to the words of the minister for education, Xavier Darcos, the ex-minister for the French-speaking countries. In fact, this means that the only foreign language worth teaching will be English.
Because of this, a moratorium on the teaching of English in french primary schools has become necessary. This moratorium will :
create a more diverse range of languages to teach in primary schools,
give back a suitable level of teaching of French or other languages (meaning teaching the basics and essential elements),
make it easier to construct a Europe of people, rich thanks to its cultural diversity.
Please send the signed petition back to : EDE-IDF, 8 rue de Cotte, FR-75012 Paris.