English language on shooting list at German schools

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English language on shooting list at German schools

British rule over more than a quarter of the world has left its marks. Even though the sun has long set on the Empire, its heritage is omnipresent: Former colonies still feel a lack of individual identity as their culture has been sustainably coined by the British. For centuries the suppressed have been bearing the burden of economic and political guidance by the island nation - leading to the side effect that English has become the dominating language in the world. The "lingua franca" - an indestructable reputation, isn't it? This might soon change, according to current trends in Germany, among other European nations.
Steph Huffington, reporting on foreign affairs for BBCNews, has investigated the issue and talked to Bettina Stark-Watzinger, the German minister of education from the liberal party, about this recent development. Stark-Watzinger points out that the British withdrawal from the European Union would have been a clear statement as to minding its own matters and businesses first. Isolating themselves from international bonds would clearly imply that the United Kingdom no longer wants to be considered an influential power in the age of globalisation and digitisation. According to Huffington, Germany, among other European nations, draws the conclusion that, consequently, the English language is gradually losing importance.
Plans for changing the school syllabus have already been issued at the last education conference in Berlin. Federal states are being encouraged to contemplate the role of other foreign languages such as French or Spanish. "The future will show that English is on the decline regarding international politics and economy. Other languages will inevitably take over the role English used to have before Brexit," Stark-Watzinger claims. A first resolution has already been put into practice by the federal states of Hamburg, Rhineland-Palatinate and the Saarland: Schools were granted the option to let students decide if they want to take a compulsory A-level course in English or substitute it with French or Spanish. A first step towards the total disappearance of English from the international stage?
The German minister of education declares that it would be a long process until the school system has completely adapted to the new circumstances and that English will probably remain a language to be offered at German schools, at least to be chosen voluntarily. "But as a progressive nation, we owe our children to provide them with the best possible learning environment - an environment that enables them to become a part of a globalised and interconnected world - a world in which English can never play the dominant role it used to play in the past", Stark-Watzinger concludes.

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