It has been a federal obligation since 2007, but the measures are only now taking effect: to promote multilingualism, each young person must be able to have a language exchange experience during their schooling. And if there is still a way to go, the signals are good: after a significant dip during the pandemic, the 2022/2023 school year saw a record number of students pack their bags to cross the Röstigraben, reports the “Tages -Anzeiger”.
“We are satisfied with the development, but the potential is far from exhausted,” summarizes Christine Keller, manager at Movetia, the national agency for the promotion of linguistic exchanges. Although reliable figures do not exist due to the cantonal distribution of this task, an estimate provided by Movetia puts the number of exchanges at nearly 27,000 last year. In 2017, there were only 17,000.
One of the reasons which explains this success is the obligation since last summer for post-compulsory establishments (high schools, gymnasiums, colleges) to offer their students exchange experiences.
Valais, a model in this area, also explains its success through a sufficiently resourced and particularly creative administration. “Real entrepreneurs in administration,” slips Christophe Darbellay, State Councilor in charge of education. Because the difficulty lies in finding host families: in certain cases, a pure and simple exchange is possible, but significant networking and canvassing work is also necessary.
Painstaking work, but it pays off: most of the students come back “delighted”, notes Yann Lenggenhager, teacher but also exchange organizer in Zurich. “For me, the German-speaking Swiss have always been “the others”, but that is no longer the case,” says Simon, a 16-year-old from Bienne, in the columns of Tagi. Who adds: “I live in a region where knowing German helps enormously in the job market. I’m also doing this for my future.”
From a few days to a year
Exchanges in Switzerland are organized by schools and cantonal authorities, and can last from a few days to a full year, in an academic and extra-curricular setting, from compulsory school to university. To find the right information by canton, the Movetia agency groups the contacts by canton.
French-speaking schools open to snatchzertütsch
The Vaudois Parliament accepted in 2023 a postulate aimed at introducing Swiss German to schools. And the canton is no exception: in Geneva, some students can take awareness courses in Alemannic dialects as part of German courses. In Neuchâtel, a Swiss German awareness course is now offered at the end of compulsory school. In Valais, the Grand Council refused in 2012 to raise awareness of the dialect in secondary schools. Elsewhere, we prefer to focus on German and linguistic exchanges.
