Lingua 2 2013

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Här följer tre artiklar ur senaste Lingua

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Ordföranden har ordet
Ordföranderutan består denna gång av det tal som Helena von Schantz
höll vid invigningen av årets språkdagar på Språkbåten
In the year I’ve chaired LMS I have heard
plenty of stories that strengthen this dismal
picture. Teachers who are asked to teach
several languages in the same classroom, or
to take charge of three different grades at the
same time. In the applications for scholarships
we receive there are teachers who
complain that they haven’t received any
professional development since the midnineties.
I was particularly discomposed by
the joyful thank-you notes from the lucky
few who received scholarships for
Språkbåten. ‘The best present you could
have given me, you have really made my
day, thank you, thank you, thank you …’ All
this for a chance for some professional
development and networking? Something
that every teacher should be able to take for
granted?
Here LMS has to take part of the blame. We
haven’t done enough. It’s not enough that we
arrange conferences, and lectures, that we
grant scholarships that come from the membership
fees. We need to rally and fight for
our common goals. For our students, for our
colleagues – indeed for the good of our
country, because languages are keys to the
rest of the world, vital for our international
competitiveness, and also an important key
to good overall academic achievements. In
Finland every child studies three languages,
many of them five. Pasi Sahlberg lifted this
as one of the main keys to Finland’s educational
success story.
We seem to have favourable winds right now
for LMS, both with increased membership,
increased state funding and a great many
friends and sympathizers. We need to take
full advantage of this and during our annual
meeting the board will ask for the mandate
to put extra focus on overall conditions for
language learning and language teaching in
Sweden.
We have a great team on the LMS-board, so
much competence, energy and creativity. I
am sure that we can make a real difference
if we channel our resources, focus on what
is most important and cooperate with our
unions, school authorities and various interest
groups
But if this fight is to be successful we all
need to pitch in. We need to increase our
membership base, we need to strengthen our
networks, we need to put pressure on
municipalities and on the government. We
are here in the best of companies, in the
company of language teachers from all over
Sweden. Why not start right now? You can
talk to your colleagues on Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday; take this chance
to make new acquaintances, to widen your
professional network. Exchange e-mail –
adresses, hook up on Facebook.
We can probably move mountains if we try
hard enough.
We can certainly make our politicians see
reason.
Helena von Schantz