THE EDITOR, Sir:

With what some term a second colonisation by the Spanish in Jamaica, French is slowing and silently dying.

Most educational institutions offer Spanish with fewer and fewer offering French as the years go by. As the number of tertiary-level graduates in French decreases, it is becoming increasingly difficult for some schools to source a French teacher.

Shortwood Teachers' College is the island's sole teacher-training institution that offers French.

Currently, there are 11 final-year students in the programme, which is the yearly average. This number is insufficient if most Jamaican schools should offer French.

The problem is compounded when there is no official curriculum for French. French teachers are left to teach in a vacuum with no continuity if they are to move from one school to another. Students learning French are being short-changed.

I am, etc.,

Desrine Bogle Carol

dcayol@ncu.edu.jm