Editor, I wish to respond to the article, “The language dynamics in schools” (Education Times, May 14). In a trilingual Rwanda all official languages should be promoted by both the state and the education system. The most common language, Kinyarwanda, should be the linguistic basis. The most essential and important domestic issues should be done in this language, as it is understood by the majority of Rwandan people. The academic institutions should contribute to expand the vocabulary of this language in order to comply with the demands of rapid transformations which are about to change social and mental dispositions in your country. Concerning the foreign languages, English and French, should both mutually coexist as you have got an Anglophone and Francophone elite in Rwanda. Any linguistic discouragement should be excluded in order to tap the full potential of the Rwandan people. People should be motivated to learn the language they do not command as well as their first foreign language. Then they will understand that both English and French have become African and for sure Rwandan languages. It is clear that a trilingual education system requires the work of good teachers who are conscious about the fact that the faculty of speech depends upon the verbal skills to be learnt right from the cradle. Kecke, Berlin,Germany
