Importance of English

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

English is an established international language and is becoming more and more predominating the World. Dominant and developing countries use it alike. It is used in key areas of science, technology and commerce. Although English is one of the official languages in our country and serves as a medium of instruction in our schools, Rwandans are having difficulty with the language. There are a great number of people desiring to learn English because of its importance in opening the windows to the World, unlocking doors to many opportunities for our country, and expanding our minds to new ideas.


THE PROBLEM OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN RWANDA

Rwanda is a trilingual country. This has an economic, social and political reason. However, the teaching of three languages from primary level has engendered brainteaser for teachers who have been in the system for many years and only speak one of the two international languages and most of them speak French, a reason why English language is a serious challenge in Rwanda. The majority of secondary schools use French and English while university education is expected to be bilingual, English and French. The few best schools produce bilingual graduates; the many average schools produce language-challenged students and they consequently perform poorly on their jobs.
French speaking Rwandans business people rely on translators and intermediaries.
Parliament uses three languages, Kinyarwanda, French, and English. MPs depend on a number of translators that do not always translate accurately legal texts from Kinyarwanda to English and French. Most conferences in Rwanda are now conducted in English requiring translators for Kinyarwanda and French and sometimes professionals are frustrated because translators do not always translate what is said.
A French speaking employee is always stressed by and bored with translation when he/she works with an English speaking employer. Many of these employees are unable to attend conferences that are in English and when they attend, they hardly understand what is said and can’t give reports to their superiors. How much money is spent in these conferences? Much money!
Most leaders still use French and it is not surprising that much information about leadership, good governance, health and many documents are published in English.
Rwanda has been now accepted in EAC; many Rwandans will not be able to compete with our neighbors who speak English.
Recently Rwanda has shifted from French to English and most of the population has a serious difficulty.