A few years ago, Elisabeth Ploewka taught French to three classes at her high school in Berlin.
Today
“I only have one left”
, observes this teacher who is disappointed by the disinterest of the pupils for a language which has lost its aura.
In France and Germany, the number of pupils learning the language of the neighbor does not cease decreasing whereas it is in particular on the linguistic and cultural exchanges that the post-war rapprochement between the two countries was sealed.
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The Franco-German Office for Youth (OFAJ) is thus a creation of the Élysée Treaty, the founding stone of the Franco-German relationship, of which Paris and Berlin are celebrating their 60th anniversary on Sunday.
This time seems far away to Andrea Beier-Werwatz, a French teacher in a high school in Teltow, a town south of Berlin:
“Beyond the words of France on Franco-German friendship, actions do not follow in our daily lives “
, laments the teacher.
There are of course students like Saskia, in 8th grade - the equivalent of 4th grade - who says she chose to learn French
“to speak with (her) French friends”
.
But his teacher, Elisabeth Ploewka, notes with bitterness that after 4 years, the pupils get rid of this teaching because
“they think that the other subjects require less work”
.
In general education, some 15% of young Germans were learning French this year.
They were 20% during the 2009-2010 school year.
Growing competition from Spanish
Anne Tallineau, secretary general of the OFAJ, prefers to speak
of "a slight step back"
, while emphasizing that learning a second language is not compulsory in Germany.
Faced with growing competition from Spanish,
“France should be much more present.
Apart from a leaflet sent out once a year, we don't feel any particular investment
,” insists Ms. Beier-Werwatz.
The situation is even more dramatic in France: in 2021, only 147,000 pupils chose German as their first language, compared to more than 600,000 in 1995, according to National Education statistics, a drop of... 75% .
"There is a real setback, and we are responsible for
it," admitted the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, during a visit to a Parisian high school with her German counterpart last November.
It's the infernal spiral: the French association of German teachers denounces
"a serious shortage"
of teachers, in a petition addressed to Emmanuel Macron, claiming that 72% of positions at Capes have not been filled in 2022 "
To have teachers, you first need students
," Ms. Colonna had pointed out to the class who challenged her in November.
In this context, many German teachers in France are assigned to several establishments, a logistical headache that ends up discouraging the strongest vocations.
Where 23% of an age group chose German as a second language in 1995, they are only 15% today, with Spanish taking the lion's share here too.
Immerse yourself in German culture
Cyprien says he chose to learn German after avidly following the World Cup organized in 2006 in Germany.
Today a student at Sciences-Po, he has resumed this teaching and has reached a level that allows him to debate social or political issues.
“The higher the level, the more you can immerse yourself in German culture
,” explains his teacher, Franck Gröninger.
And better understand its neighbor.
This 52-year-old teacher, who regularly gives lessons to civil servants at the Quai d'Orsay, also had the opportunity to refine the German of the Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, one of the few in the French political class to speak German during meetings with their counterparts.
“For example, we played the scene where we had to talk to Angela Merkel in an elevator
,” smiles Mr. Gröninger.
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Concerns far from the daily life of schools for which new projects are developing, however, assures the director of the OFAJ.
“During this school year, 65 teachers left to give language lessons in nursery schools in the neighboring country
,” explains Anne Tallineau, for example.
She still wants to
“develop shorter, more flexible exchange formats from the first years of middle school, to familiarize little by little with the language of the partner”
.
