The French language in Slovakia and its train of life

The battle of French and English in Slovakia after (1989) 1993 has been gained by English at both elementary and secondary schools. Not only because of the powerful position of this language within the European Union, but also thanks to the automatic rush of Russian language teachers into English.

But an attentive observer will immediately realise that the quality of many of the recycled teachers «in just one night» is always deplorable, not to mention the funds «thrown through the window». The situation of the period after 1989 reminds us of the 50's in Czechoslovakia where the so-called Russian popular courses lasting a few months provided the listeners a privileged linguistic position.

Nevertheless, there are solutions. French can retrieve its respectable place in Slovakia through the joint efforts of enthusiastic people, the Embassy and the responsible officers for linguistic policy in Slovakia. The love for French is acquired at nursery and elementary schools. But such an obsession as the one stating that French turns up very difficult, especially its pronunciation, makes thing even more complicated. A certain amount of optimism is recommended but not too much. It is confirmed that German moves back at secondary school while the interest for French increases. But at the same time Spanish gains ground in a spectacular way. The future depends on the reasonable and balanced decisions of the European Commission regarding language policies and on the efforts of the national ministries concerned (as for education, social affairs, higher education). Why not offering attracting language duets? For instance: just allow choosing combinations such as English-French, German-French and Spanish-French. But even here, a sufficient number of well-paid teachers would be desirable.

Keywords: Slovakia, French language, delicate position, lack of teachers and professionalism, inadequate remuneration.