English in Switzerland

The Swiss have a proud record of linguistic ability and integration. Switzerland has four national languages – French, German, Italian and Romansch (Row-man-sch) and a large proportion of the population can speak at least two of these. Traditionally, Swiss children begin learning their second national language at the age of 11. But things are changing….English is becoming more popular among the Swiss, so much so that schools in the Zurich region are now teaching it before French. But while some Swiss can’t learn English fast enough, others think the rush to English is a mistake. Swiss Radio International’s Imogen Foulkes (Folks) reports.