Use refugees toteach Spanish

THE EDITOR: There is a unit in the Office of the Prime Minister charged with responsibility for promoting Spanish as a second language in TT.

At the primary school level Spanish is an official part of the school curriculum. The business community could benefit from the promotion of Spanish as a second language given our proximity to South America and the possibilities for doing business with that region in years to come.

The influx of refugees presents possibilities for the promotion of bilingualism which we need to recognise and embrace. We can benefit from the present circumstances as well if some creative leadership is displayed in the various sectors of society.

Is it possible to identify some primary schools as bilingual? They can be staffed by some of the refugees as well as local teachers. These can be the schools that accept children of refugees.

Is it possible to build a pool of native Spanish speakers who are made available to secondary schools for periods of time so students attempting Spanish for CXC and CAPE can be exposed to native speakers?

Of course there will be issues of selection of appropriate people, payment arrangement etc but these logistics can be worked out.

SAMUEL LOCHAN via e-mail