Disputes in Switzerland Over Federal Competence in Teaching Languages

Chapter 19 English or French? Disputes in Switzerland over Federal Competence in Teaching Languages

Peter Hänni

1 Introduction*

Switzerland, with its four national languages and three official languages is a multi-lingual state. For a long period of time, teaching of foreign languages in primary and secondary schools in Switzerland was regulated exclusively by the twenty-six cantons. This started to change in the early 1970s when the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (edk)1 initiated a process of continuous coordination. The most important among the recommendations made by the edk in 1975 was the one to introduce teaching of a second national language in primary school, which all cantons, introduced into their cur- riculum albeit not immediately.2 While it was generally accepted that the teaching of a second language meant teaching one of the national languages, this started to change with the advent of rapid globalisation and the increasing use of English. At the end of the 1990s, the discussion arose as to whether the introduction of early English teaching at the primary school level required coordination. At the General As- sembly meeting of 25 March 2004, the edk agreed on a common objective in the area of language teaching at the compulsory schooling level and set out a work plan for coordination across Switzerland.3 To reach the common objective, the cantons would have to introduce, in the long run, second and third languages in primary school with the requirement that at least one of the foreign languages introduced would also have to be a national language. The first of the two languages would have to be introduced latest in Grade 3 and the second latest by Grade 5. This so-called 3/5 model was

* I thank Dr. Rekha Oleschak for her research assistance and translation of the paper. 1 Legally binding, intercantonal agreements (known as concordats) form the foundation for the work of the edk. In most cases however, the edk issues (non-binding) recommendations. 2 The coordination process ran into difficulties in several cantons where popular initiatives were introduced against the introduction of second language teaching. It was in the 1990s that the introduction of a second language in primary schools in almost all cantons took place. Cf. edk (Information brochure, 2); edk (Fact Sheet, 1). 3 Decision of the General Assembly of edk, available online at www.edk.ch.

English or French? 443 adopted by the HarmoS4 and was implemented by most cantons, also those which did not join the HarmoS.5 The common objectives agreed upon by the edk and concretised in Art. 4 HarmoS, termed as the “Language Strategy” has run into difficulties through various popular initiatives and parliamentary postulates which have been submitted or even accepted, in some German speaking cantons, which more or less demand that only one foreign language be taught at the primary school level. To avoid confusion, it needs to be said that in Switzerland, the term foreign language does not refer to a non-indigenous language as such. Depending on the language of the place at hand, any of the other national or official languages could be a foreign language, including English. In the canton of Nidwalden, the citizens accepted a popular initiative on 8 March 2015 for an amendment to the Public School Law with respect to language teaching at the primary school level. In the canton of Lucerne, a similar initiative was submitted in autumn 2014; in the canton of Grisons, a popular initiative submitted in 2013 challenged not only the number of foreign languages but also which language is to be taught in which region of the canton. Since Grisons is a trilingual canton, this is of extreme importance and based on a legal opinion by Prof. A. Previtali on the unconstitutionality of the initiative (Previtali 2014), the cantonal parliament declared the popular initiative invalid, thus preventing a vote on the same.6 Other far-reaching initiatives demand an exit from the HarmoS.7 In the canton of Thurgau, the cantonal parliament has forwarded a motion to the cantonal council (Executive) demanding the shift of French-language teaching from the primary school level to the secondary school level. Similar and sometimes more far-reaching parliamentary postulates have been introduced also in other cantons.8 In light of these developments, the edk at its Annual Assembly of 31 October 2014, with the participation of Federal Councillor Alain Berset, publicly

4 Intercantonal Agreement on the harmonisation of compulsory schooling (HarmoS), 14 June 2007 (sr-edk 1.2). In accordance with the grading system in the HarmoS-Konkordat one also speaks of the 5/7 model. 5 The cantons of Appenzell i.R., Uri and Aargau are not “yet” on track. For an overview see edk (Information brochure, 2); edk (2014); see also edk (Fact Sheet, 3). 6 Popular initiatives have to be submitted for initial approval to the Parliament (cantonal for cantonal initiatives). These are then reviewed on formal criteria (consistency of form and subject matter) as well as substantive criteria (non-infringement of mandatory provisions of international law and in case of cantonal initiatives, non-infringement of superior law, i.e., federal legislation or the federal Constitution). 7 These have been introduced in the cantons of St.Gallen and Basel-Land. A similar initiative was rejected by the voters in 2010 in the canton of Schaffhausen. 8 For example in St. Gallen, Schaffhausen and Solothurn.