Study technical subjects, foreign languages to be more marketable

Why do you study French, German or Arabic? Where will it take you?

It is not uncommon to hear Kenyan parents discouraging their children from studying technical subjects or other rare ones, such as foreign languages. One is only deemed bright if they excel in biology, mathematics, chemistry, English or the other “core” subjects.

But that is fallacious. It has made many Kenyan children to believe that the technical subjects and foreign languages are for a few talented students.

Quite often, students are not given a chance to study these subjects. Many school administrators consider them expensive to teach, hence an unnecessary burden. This often results in little emphasis being put in the subjects.

Given the socioeconomic background of most learners, they join Form One not having heard of these subjects. Most parents have not heard about them either. Coupled by the situation in most schools, most foreign language and technical classes end up with extremely few students, even when they are clearly very important. This is in spite of the fact that these are the core subjects if the country is to achieve the Kenya Vision 2030.

Most foreign languages are ‘trending’. Demand for multilingual experts is overwhelming. The fact that Kenya is an anglophone country may partly explain why there is little interest in foreign languages other than English but that is not an excuse.

The reason why we have low numbers of foreign language students is quite often due to lack of manpower. There is a shortage of teachers yet many students, even those who take education at the university, do not opt for these subjects.

The society discourages studying the languages because few people know about them. But graduates of such subjects as German, French, music and art and design ‘tarmack’ less.

The ongoing change of the curriculum presents a golden opportunity for Kenyans to embrace technical subjects and foreign languages. We will require teachers, trainers and lecturers in these subjects. Where will they come from if students do not take these foreign languages?

A Kenyan parent may not want their child to study Chinese, German, French, Spanish or Arabic but will rejoice if they do Kiswahili or English. The latter are very important and, as official and business languages, a must in Kenya, but almost all of your local competitors are fluent in them.

Only less than one per cent of Kenyans can speak a third international language yet they are required by many employers. Take, for instance, a situation where an international firm based in Kenya advertises for a position. They could receive thousands of applications in a day. Those with a foreign language will have an edge over the other applicants.

The world is becoming a global village. Encourage students to take foreign languages.