DOMODEDOVO, September 6, DOMODEDOVO NEWS - The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation announced that this year a second foreign language will become a compulsory school subject. This innovation received different responses from parents.
Olya is surprised: “If the second foreign language is taught like the first, the question arises: why? First, let them master the Russian language. Children at the beginning with speech impediments are sitting. They speak Russian poorly, much less write it. But in the second grade - English, in the fifth - the second foreign language...”
Andrey: “It’s also unclear, if one (language - editor’s note) is taught somehow, why a second one, and the most interesting thing is that under this new lesson they’re cleaning up physical training and something else—probably labor.”
Tatka complains: “Nothing has been taken away from us, it’s just that sometimes there will be two Russian language lessons, and so Tuesday - English, Wednesday-Thursday - German, and Friday - English. Honestly, I really feel sorry for the children (sad smile).
Lana: “Knowledge of languages is, of course, good, but... But it’s a shame that your own native language they don’t know - they write with errors, construct sentences in such a way that sometimes it’s difficult to understand what the person wanted to say...”
Natalia: “The eldest daughter, who went to the 8th grade, has three hours of English and two hours of German language it will be a week."
Olga about the painful issue: “My youngest son also moved to the 8th grade, also two languages. I think that it’s superfluous, if from the second grade, like English, then maybe it would be useful. And languages still need to be learned according to the child’s choice. I would recommend English and Chinese to mine. And as for the fact that it would be better to teach Russian... Many people write comments with such errors that you are amazed. I studied in the 60s, in the 80s the older children studied, wrote essays, summaries, and dictations. And now... My son went to first grade, his handwriting was beautiful, he tried hard. We studied according to the “2100” program, continuous tests. The entire task sheet is printed in workbook, insert one or two words, or even even underline the correct answer. How could they not have completely forgotten how to write by the eighth grade?”
Zhenya: "Ninth grade. A second French language was introduced. Not at all on time."
Stepan is slightly ironic: “You come home from work in the evening, and a child runs up to you and shouts for help with German, and you, scratching your turnip, remember that 10 years ago you learned English, and you could barely get a “3”. But your child, bursting into tears, asks for help, because Gulnaz Ibragimovna will give a “two” to someone who doesn’t do his homework.”
Nastya: “It’s very good, if you teach it correctly, it won’t be a problem for a child to learn two languages at once. Their brains are like sponges. Another thing is whether there will be a desire?!”
The second foreign language in Russian schools, lyceums and gymnasiums was introduced at the beginning of the 2015-2016 academic year. Since the decision of the Ministry of Education was advisory in nature, each educational institution had the opportunity to decide to introduce another language as compulsory at its own discretion, which became the cause of dissatisfaction among many parents.
Some schools working in the advanced state implementation mode have made a second language a compulsory program without consulting with parents. But there were also those who were dissatisfied that their children did not have the opportunity to learn an additional language for free as part of the main curriculum.
What's next? What language will schoolchildren study in the 2018-2019 academic year as a second foreign language and will it be possible to refuse such a load at a school where the core subjects are not humanities? Let's figure it out.
Is a second foreign language required or not?
Although the discussion that a second foreign language must be taught at school has been going on since 2010, the terms for the introduction of this norm were constantly pushed back, until the coming 2018-2019 year. Although the idea at first glance seemed quite feasible, its implementation faced a number of serious problems, including:
- lack of free hours in the schedule of specialized classes;
- shortage of teaching staff;
- unpreparedness of children and parents for increased loads and new requirements.
That is why in 2017-2018 the second foreign language was recommended for study, but was not yet mandatory. Moreover, each school was given the opportunity to independently choose the language that high school students would study based on the wishes of the children and parents or the availability of an appropriate qualified specialist.
Thus, today a second foreign language is compulsory only for classes with a philological focus. But already in the 2018-2019 academic year, everything may change.
Selecting a second language
In most cases, the decision about what the second foreign student will be is made by the administration of the educational institution. Today, in various schools, lyceums and gymnasiums of the Russian Federation, in addition to English, they study:
- German;
- French;
- Spanish;
- Chinese.
Thanks to the project “German is the first second foreign language”, many schools have given preference to Goethe’s language.
From what class can two foreigners enter?
Don't be afraid that first-graders will be forced to learn several languages at the same time. Learning a foreign language will be gradual. From the 1st grade, children will learn the main language (for most it will be English), and from the 5th grade a second subject will appear in the program. This approach will allow children to easily master basic concepts.
Thus, if in the new academic year the second foreign language becomes mandatory for all schools, regardless of the profile, then only students of the “starter classes” should worry. For example, if the standard program is designed to study a subject from grades 5 to 11, it can only be introduced for 5th graders! In this case, students in grades 6-11 must continue studying according to the old standard (without a second foreign standard, if it was not in the educational institution’s plans earlier).
When introducing a second language, a differentiated approach is allowed. This means that each region will be able to decide for itself in which grade and to what extent children will study an additional subject.
Thus, for the central regions, where Russian is a native language, innovation is not a problem, while for some schools in the outback, where children first need to master Russian and English to the required extent, the introduction of another new philological subject may become a problem.
Opinion of the Minister of Education
On September 27, 2017, during an interview for the RT television channel, Olga Vasilyeva stated that she is opposed to a second foreign language in non-core schools.
“We cannot now afford two languages in all schools, we will not learn them! We need to know the Russian language well, which we don’t know very well,” explained the head of the Ministry of Education and Science.
Naturally, such a statement could not help but raise a lot of questions about the abolition of a second foreign language in the school curriculum by 2020.
What can students and parents expect? At the moment, there are no official documents indicating the impending cancellation of the innovation, the discussion about the feasibility of which has not ceased for many years. The most obvious is the prospect of providing educational institutions the right to introduce or not introduce a second foreign language for their students. But who should make this decision and how? School administration or parents? These questions remain to be answered.
Foreign practice
Knowledge of foreign languages is one of the basic requirements for specialists in many fields today. And this norm is relevant not only for Russia. In all EU countries, schoolchildren are required to study foreign languages different stages school life. In some countries, acquaintance with foreign languages begins only in high school. At the same time, in many countries, 2-4 hours a week are allocated for learning a second language, and high school students also master a third language, which does not cause any complaints from parents.
The practice has been working in Ukrainian schools for a long time, but officially from September 1, 2018, children will be required to study 2 foreign languages (the main one from the 1st grade, and the second from the 5th grade). The range of languages offered will include: German, Spanish, French, Polish, Russian, as well as languages of national minorities, which children will be able to study as a second foreign language at the request of their parents.
To educate future active members of society capable of making an informed choice of profession, to help them develop as much as possible and correctly apply their abilities is possible only in an atmosphere of free personal development, universal access to education and respect for human rights and freedoms. First of all, the rights and freedoms of the students themselves, educated, prepared. At the same time, in the conditions of the practical organization of the activities of a general education institution, when it is necessary to find the optimal combination of various pedagogical, psychological, economic and other aspects, it is often very difficult to remain within the required framework. Therefore, the legal guideline on this path should be the right of students to receive an education on the basis of equality of opportunity.
In this sense, the issue of choosing a foreign language to study is today one of the most subtle and at the same time significant moments in the field of initial and basic general education. Since it reflects not only the actually available opportunities for students to develop abilities based on their own ideas and needs, but also a latent, not formulated for various reasons, conflict of interest in this issue between educational authorities, school administrations, on the one hand, and students and their parents, on the other hand.
In the practice of a general education institution (school, gymnasium, lyceum, hereinafter referred to as school), there are often cases when the administration, in order to preserve linguistic pluralism, considers it acceptable to refuse admission to school for children who do not live in a nearby microdistrict if they do not agree to study a certain foreign language. Moreover, already in the learning process for this category of children there is also no right to choose the foreign language they study. In this connection, if there are no free places for them in the group of the desired foreign language, the number of which is determined by the administration at its own discretion, given language they will only be able to study on a paid basis.
It should be noted that at the moment, when resolving the question of which foreign language is the most attractive for learning, the objective trend emerging in favor of the English language is characteristic of many countries of the world. This is due to geopolitical and socio-economic factors, including its widespread use in computer technology and the Internet. Therefore, in this article, “desired foreign language” first of all means English language.
At the same time, according to current legislation, dividing a class into foreign language groups is possible only in accordance with the free choice of the student to learn one or another foreign language provided curriculum. Thus, based on principle 7 of the “Declaration of the Rights of the Child”, Art. 43 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, every child has the right to receive an education on the basis of equality of opportunity; the general availability of basic general education in state or municipal educational institutions is guaranteed. As follows from the “Model Regulations on a General Educational Institution” (clauses 2, 3, and 5), approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated March 19, 2001 No. 196 (hereinafter referred to as the “Model Regulations”), the conditions for the exercise by citizens of the Russian Federation of the right to public education are created by a general educational institution , which in its activities is guided by federal laws, decrees of the Government of the Russian Federation, Model Regulations, as well as the charter of a general education institution developed on its basis. According to paragraph 31 of the “Model Regulations”, when conducting foreign language classes, it is possible to divide the class into two groups. At the same time, considering this norm in connection with paragraphs 4, 6, 10 of the “Model Regulations”, it should be noted that such a division of the class into groups cannot go against the inclinations and interests of students.
At the same time, it (this division) should be based on the principle of free development of the individual, as well as a guaranteed opportunity for conscious choice and subsequent development of professional educational programs. Therefore, each student, as a freely developing individual, when dividing the class into groups, should be given the right to choose one or another foreign language to be studied, provided for by the curriculum of a given educational institution.
In addition, this method of dividing the class into groups, enshrined in the legislation of the Russian Federation, is fully consistent with the basic principles of state educational policy in the field of teaching foreign languages, set out in the letter of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation dated November 28, 2000 No. 3131/11-13 “On the study of foreign languages in educational institutions" In particular, paragraphs six and ten of this letter provide an explanation of the methods by which the school has the right to achieve the preservation of linguistic pluralism. We are talking about methods based on extensive explanatory work with parents, on proving to them the advantages of studying a particular foreign language in a given region, in a particular school, which cannot but imply the right to choose the foreign language being studied. If only because it makes no sense to attach such importance to explaining and proving something to parents if nothing depends on them. Finally, in paragraph five of the said letter it is directly stated that parents and students choose the language they are learning based on their interests and needs.
Thus, the student’s right to free choice of the foreign language studied is an integral part of such rights as the right to access education guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the right to free personal development, as well as the right to gain knowledge and choose a specialization on the basis of equality of opportunity. It should be especially noted that This right of a student cannot be limited based on place of residence. According to paragraph 3 of Article 55 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the rights and freedoms of man and citizen can be limited only by federal law and only to the extent necessary in order to protect the foundations of the constitutional system, morality, health, rights and legitimate interests of other persons, and ensure the defense of the country and state security. Based on paragraph 2 of Article 19 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, Article 5 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On Education” (as amended by the Federal Law of January 13, 1996 No. 12-FZ) (hereinafter referred to as the Federal Law “On Education”), citizens of the Russian Federation are guaranteed the opportunity to receive an education regardless of their place of residence . At the same time, federal law restricts only the right of children who do not live near a given school to be admitted to it, and only to the extent necessary in order to protect the rights and legitimate interests of other children living near a given school (clause 1 of Art. 16 Federal Law “On Education”, paragraph 46 of the “Model Regulations”). The federal law says nothing about limiting the right to choose a foreign language to study based on residence or non-residence in a given territory. Thus, by virtue of the law, all children who are already students of a given school (both living and not living near it) should be given the right to choose the foreign language they study.
Also, it should be recognized that the school administration’s references to the lack of free places in the group of the desired foreign language are not based on the law. The decision about which foreign language will be studied in a particular school, a particular class, as well as whether the class will be divided into groups, is made by the school administration, taking into account the current educational situation in a given school, namely, the presence or absence of qualified personnel in this or that foreign language, their traditions of teaching this academic subject. In addition, in accordance with paragraph three of paragraph 31 of the “Model Regulations”, dividing the class into groups for studying a foreign language at the first stage of general education (and today, as a rule, studying a foreign language begins in primary school) is only possible if there is necessary conditions and funds. This means that when dividing a class into groups, the school is obliged to provide such guarantees of universal access to education so that all students have equal rights to learn the desired foreign language. Therefore, if the school administration for some reason does not have this opportunity, it should be recognized that the conditions and means necessary for dividing the class into groups are simply not available in this school. In this sense, it must be stated that there are no legal grounds for dividing the class into groups. Otherwise, if the administration school is coming for the specified division, it no longer has the right to refer to the lack of free places, the number of which it itself establishes.
Since the administration’s right to divide the class into groups corresponds to its obligation to establish such a number of places in these groups that it ensures, as stated above, universal access to education, free personal development, as well as equal opportunities for students to gain knowledge and choose a specialization. In other words, in a situation where there are English teachers at school, English is taught, part of the students in the class (with whom other students in this class have absolutely equal rights during the learning process) are given the opportunity to learn English; and at the same time, there are not enough places in the English language group for everyone, it must be admitted that the school administration itself is primarily to blame for this. In this regard, she does not have the right to refer to the lack of vacancies as the basis for her actions to refuse to provide the opportunity for any of the students in the class to study English.
Thus, it is within the competence of the school administration to establish what foreign languages the class will study and whether it will be divided into two groups, and the number of them, by virtue of the law, including constitutional principles, must be a reflection of the desires of the students and their parents to study that or another foreign language. Finally, under the above circumstances, offering a child to learn the desired foreign language only on a paid basis is a gross violation of the state-guaranteed right of every citizen to free education(Article 43 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).
In conclusion, we can say that the right to receive education on the basis of equality of opportunity is a limiting point in the competence of the school administration to organize the study of foreign languages. In this case, the limiting mechanism is expressed in the fact that students with the same status (same school, same class) should be given a real opportunity (the implementation of which would depend solely on their desire) to study any of the foreign languages that are assigned to their class by the curriculum .
See: Paragraphs 4, 6 of the “Model Regulations on a General Educational Institution”, approved by Government Decree No. 196 dated March 19, 2001 (as amended on December 23, 2002) // SZ RF.2001. N 13. Art. 1252.
See: Letter of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation dated November 28, 2000 No. 3131/11-13 “On the study of foreign languages in educational institutions” // Bulletin of Education. 2001. N 1. P. 77.
“Declaration of the Rights of the Child” (proclaimed by Resolution 1386 (XIV) of the UN General Assembly of November 20, 1959) RG. 1993. N 237. December 25.
SZ RF.2001. N 13. Art. 1252.
See: Paragraph 43 decree. "Standard provision".
Bulletin of Education. 2001. N 1. P. 77.
See also: Zuevich “Is it possible to choose a foreign language?” // PravdaSevera.ru. 2002. June 20. Published: .
NW RF. 1996. No. 3. Art. 150.
See: Decree. letter from the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.
See also: “Submission to eliminate violations of the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation,” submitted by the prosecutor’s office of the Industrial District of Barnaul (ref. No. 216 zh/04 dated June 11, 2004). Was not published.
1. B Russian Federation the receipt of education in the state language of the Russian Federation is guaranteed, as well as the choice of the language of instruction and upbringing within the limits of the possibilities provided by the education system.
2. In educational organizations, educational activities are carried out in the state language of the Russian Federation, unless otherwise established by this article. Teaching and learning of the state language of the Russian Federation within the framework of educational programs with state accreditation are carried out in accordance with federal state educational standards, educational standards.
3. In state and municipal educational organizations located on the territory of the republic of the Russian Federation, teaching and learning of the state languages of the republics of the Russian Federation may be introduced in accordance with the legislation of the republics of the Russian Federation. Teaching and studying the state languages of the republics of the Russian Federation within the framework of educational programs with state accreditation are carried out in accordance with federal state educational standards and educational standards. The teaching and study of the state languages of the republics of the Russian Federation should not be carried out to the detriment of the teaching and study of the state language of the Russian Federation.
4. Citizens of the Russian Federation have the right to receive preschool, primary general and basic general education in their native language from among the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, as well as the right to study their native language from among the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, including Russian as their native language, within the limits of the possibilities provided by the education system, in the manner established by the legislation on education. The implementation of these rights is ensured by the creation of the required number of relevant educational organizations, classes, groups, as well as conditions for their functioning. Teaching and studying the native language from among the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, including the Russian language as a native language, within the framework of educational programs that have state accreditation are carried out in accordance with federal state educational standards and educational standards.
5. Education can be obtained in a foreign language in accordance with the educational program and in the manner established by the legislation on education and local regulations of the organization implementing educational activities.
6. The language and languages of education are determined by local regulations of the organization carrying out educational activities in accordance with its implementation educational programs, in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation. The free choice of the language of education, the studied native language from among the languages of the peoples of the Russian Federation, including the Russian language as the native language, the state languages of the republics of the Russian Federation is carried out upon applications of the parents (legal representatives) of minor students upon admission (transfer) to study in educational programs up to school education educational programs of primary general and basic general education that have state accreditation.
(see text in the previous edition)
Just a couple of decades ago, children in schools struggled to master a single foreign language. There was little choice. By the end of the millennium, German, English and French were in school use. Now they are planning to change everything. The process has already begun - there is a greater choice of disciplines, and a second foreign language will be added to compulsory study at school in 2018-2019.
A second foreign language in schools has become a source of dissatisfaction among parents
It would be strange if innovations in the education system could take place without unnecessary incidents. Traditionally, any changes in the country cause “stormy waves” of condemnation and just talk. The same thing happened with the introduction of the second foreign language into the school curriculum.
Both teachers and parents were involved in the discussion process. At first, the latter were only concerned about the constantly increasing level of educational loads. After the pilot introduction of a second foreign language in a number of schools, a wave of indignation began to appear. Some parents continued to be outraged by the ever-increasing number of classes. Others were offended by the lack of free multilingual services at their school. That is, some parents have a lot of workload, while others don’t have enough.
The situation is strange, but does not go beyond logic - there are specialized schools for in-depth study a number of disciplines. It is possible that the project will be adjusted to separate multilingualism from the program educational institutions technical orientation.
Interesting! In many European countries, schoolchildren sometimes learn not 2, but 3 foreign languages at once. If we draw a parallel with Russian system education, then children learn the first 2 “foreign languages” from the first or second grade, and the third at 10 and 11. The point is that they have more weekly hours of classes.
At the same time, the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, Olga Vasilyeva, considers the widespread introduction of two “foreign languages” to be a mistake. She argues that it would be more correct to introduce such a practice only in specialized schools. In other educational institutions, it is worth emphasizing in-depth training in Russian speech, since the modern generation even official language knows poorly, and many people fail to master a foreign language.
Features of introducing an additional subject into the school curriculum
The issue of switching to 2 “foreign languages” is still in approval mode. There are no clear instructions yet, although a number of schools have already switched to multilingual programs. Moreover, the right to choose a second language is given to schools - you can choose any one from the approved list. Many schools are unlikely to try to find a specialist for still “exotic” languages. At the same time, the country has had a strong focus on learning the German language for many years, so perhaps this is the main contender for inclusion in the compulsory program. Oleg Radchenko, one of the authors of textbooks on the Goethe language, used to worry that the strong linguistic and didactic school of German might disappear, but innovation could help it survive.
The list of languages is not so wide yet, although there is still a choice:
- English.
- Spanish.
- German.
- Chinese.
- French.
Spanish and Chinese languages. They have been in practice for a long time schooling, but have not yet become so widespread, although they have even gained the right to “participate” in the Unified State Exam. In addition, there are also the native languages of national minorities, which are still taught in the format of a variable part of school education. That is, the official introduction of a second foreign language at school in 2018-2019 will allow the study of the native speech of indigenous peoples to go beyond auxiliary subjects. It is understood that a native language other than Russian can be studied as part of the new program.
It is also worth noting that the multilingualism project implies maximum independence for schools not only in choosing a discipline, but also in terms of other aspects. Schools or gymnasiums themselves will be able to set the volume of lessons taught and the annual schedule itself.
Attention! Parents should understand that even the mandatory introduction of a second foreign language at school in 2018-2019 will not mean its exact presence in the child’s schedule. While the main parts school programs for the study of foreign languages are designed for the period from 5th to 11th grade. Based on this, the introduction of a new subject is possible only for children who are beginners. academic year in the fifth form. Children in higher grades will continue their studies according to the previous programs.
Do not forget that in the scale of such changes, educational materials and final examination tests will have their own innovations applied. Both tests and textbooks will require changes. Ideally, the creation of full-fledged educational materials contrastive type, building a relationship between the two languages being studied.
This is not possible yet. Even the choice of discipline is conditional. In fact, parents and children are only given the illusion of being given a choice of language. In fact, studying the subject will depend on the availability of school facilities and other factors.
Problems and consequences of introducing multilingualism
In the emerging system of new education, there is an obvious paradox - officials want to teach in a new way, having an old program. The combination of general standardization, if not stereotyped education, with attempts to expand the volume of knowledge of schoolchildren through the development of versatility, can cause surprise. Such a system cannot work - even schoolchildren understand that either uniform standards are needed, or variability in teaching is allowed. An attempt to standardize education in itself is not bad, but it must concern certain fundamentals that are mandatory for all schools, gymnasiums and lyceums. Modern Federal State Educational Standards are quite worthy, but they are trying to “drive” all educational institutions into an unnecessary template without taking into account the region, remoteness from major cities etc. Absence in small locality mathematics school will force the child to go to a regular school, where it may be difficult for him due to the strong emphasis on humanities.
The second significant problem of introducing another subject into curriculum is a banal staff shortage. Multilingualism in schools can only be fully realized in major cities. In small villages and towns, even with 1 foreign language in the program, there is a constant problem of a shortage of foreign language teachers. In such a situation, even if they wanted to, a number of schools will not be able to implement the requirements of the Ministry of Education.
The third nuance of introducing discipline will be the lack of readiness of the parents themselves along with the students. Not all children can easily cope with the increased workload, and much depends on local teachers. As a result, the additional “foreign language” will be a new reason for auxiliary classes with a tutor or a place for parents to demonstrate their perseverance in tandem with the perseverance of their children.
So far, the second “foreign language” has become compulsory only in schools with a philological focus. These don’t even exist in every city. However, in 2018-2019, everything may change for ordinary schools, although educational institutions with a technical focus are unlikely to oblige them to strengthen the humanitarian inclination through a new discipline.
Video about a second foreign language at school