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Moshe Zimmermann (MfG 9) obviously sees "German nationalism" apparent in the fact that applicants for German citizenship will have to prove a certain knowledge of the German language. Moreover, he worries about the case of one of today's German soccer aces, who, as a young boy emigrating with his family from Poland to Germany, had to attend 3rd instead of 5th grade at school due to his weak knowledge of German. When I decided to settle in Poland 7 years ago, I started learning the language. It was the most natural thing for me that I speak and understand the language of the people among who I want to live (though I never had the intention to change my citizenship). And do not those who apply for German citizenship want to live in Germany, among Germans, and where German is the language of offices and institutions? (1) An individual who wants to settle in a country where X is the official language should learn this language, at least to a certain degree. Otherwise s/he will not be able to communicate with the "indigenous" population and with official institutions. This holds especially for immigrants who apply for citizenship. Why do they do apply for citizenship, if they won't settle in this country? This holds for every country, regardless of legal regulations, and is a matter of sound reasoning, not of "nationalism." (2) An individual who wants to attend school - regardless of the level - must have at least so much knowledge of the teaching language that s/he can follow the lessons. And when X is the teaching language, than s/he must - in the beginning - attend those classes where s/he can follow what the teacher says, what the classmates say, s/he must be able to understand the tasks given by the teacher and the textbooks, and s/he must be able to express her/his own contributions and solutions of the tasks in a language that the teacher and the classmates understand, regardless of the class level s/he had achieved in the country from which s/he emigrated. Maybe later s/he can jump a grade or more which is possible in many countries, e.g. in Germany and in Poland. You cannot expect that a small or middle-sized country will - or can - give every immigrant youth, from whichever country s/he comes, the opportunity of being taught all subjects in her/his native tongue. What is more, school curricula differ quite a lot also among European countries, even in so allegedly "neutral" subjects as mathematics. So putting an immigrant child into a class according to her/his knowledge of the teaching language is a matter of sound reasoning and not a sign of "nationalism." And this holds equally for every country. Joachim Neander Independent Scholar, Krakow, Poland
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