In Zurich, a leading Canton in the Swiss Confederation, it has been proposed to teach one foreign language—English—in primary schools. This would represent a change
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Zurich"s
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school kids now study English and French. Voters will decide whether French will be dropped.
Supporters of one foreign language believe that two foreign languages are
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for kids. They believe that kids
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strong fluency in German, the mother
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for schoolchildren in Zurich.
In fact, Zurich kids speak Swiss German,
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is primarily an oral language. In school they have to learn standard German, which
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is a foreign language.
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when you add them all
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Zurich kids are learning four languages.
All of Switzerland will watch what Zurich voters decide because Zurich is a(n)
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canton and others may follow suit. Yet some German-speaking cantons have already decided to
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plans to reduce the number of foreign languages.
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what happens, Swiss kids will be fluent
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more than one language which is a definite asset in today"s global economy. It is
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a definite asset in learning other subjects. Studies
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in American universities have found that kids who study in dual-language schools outperform their
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who are taught in English only. Apparently, kids
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in two languages
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a mental agility that monolingual kids
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. Perhaps four languages are too many in elementary school, but two is not
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at all.