Commentary: Ending mandatory second-language lessons is easy. Sparking interest in German is harder

High school students University Education

The second foreign language will no longer be mandatory for all lower-secondary pupils, according to Education Minister Robert Plaga. Schools will still have to offer it as an elective. But this change does not answer how to make German more engaging for young people.

Schools are facing a shortage of teachers, limited lesson time and varying levels of motivation among pupils. These are not minor issues that can be solved by simply removing one compulsory subject from the timetable. The fact that a second foreign language is no longer to be mandatory for all pupils will not, in itself, improve the quality of teaching or strengthen motivation. The problem has not disappeared.

Ultimately, the key question is not whether a second language should be compulsory or optional. What matters more is what we do to make young people want to choose it themselves – and to make learning it meaningful for them.

In the Czech context, German is by far the most commonly taught second foreign language. It is the language of our neighbours, of a closely connected cultural space, of travel, work and everyday contact. In many regions, it is not an abstract advantage to add to a CV. Germany and Austria are often only a few dozen kilometers away. This is a closeness that we do not have with other languages to the same extent.

But these arguments do not usually work on pupils by themselves.

Motivation does not arise from telling young people that a language will be useful to them one day. It arises when they experience it in a specific situation: when they meet peers from Germany, when they realize that even a few words are enough to make first contact, and when the language stops being just schoolwork and becomes a means of communication and understanding.

This is precisely where our Coordination Center Tandem can support schools. We help establish Czech-German partnerships, provide counseling, offer Czech-German language animation, and support schools taking their first steps towards cooperation. It does not have to be a large-scale exchange right away. Sometimes, an online meeting, a shared topic, a project day, or a first visit to a partner school is enough.

Making the second foreign language optional rather than compulsory does not therefore have to mean the end of German in schools. But it is a warning. If German remains only a formal option, some pupils will skip it. If, however, schools receive support and young people see meaning in learning German, choosing a second language can become a real opportunity.

The commentary was written by Lucie Tarabová, Director of the Czech office of the Coordination Center for Czech-German Youth Exchanges Tandem.