● <B>What was the objective behind the Mauritius Research Council (MRC)’s initiative of asking you to conduct a study on the “Assessment of the use of English in International Business in Mauritius”?</B>

I had some discussions with the MRC and realised that they were interested in conducting such a study to assess the use of functional English in international business. The original hypothesis was that there was trouble in call centres where some companies were losing contracts and this was a cause for concern for the MRC. But then we extended the study to international business and export activities in all sectors of Mauritius. We wanted to measure the extent of the gap between the level of proficiency in English shown by Mauritian employees and that required for success in international markets. The aim was also to make recommendations about how to improve the use of functional English for business purposes. But the results finally took us much further…

● <B>So, what were the main conclusions of your report?</B>

We actually asked people at the top level of their companies how they felt about the English used in their firms and the profile of their employees and the language they use at work. We realised that 70% work with English – and we thought we were right to have started such a study. But then we realised that the level of English was far from sufficient. Except for the top managers who are exposed to the language through trips abroad or meetings with foreign people, we realised that most of the spoken and written English was not up to standard for the majority. Those at the front-line are not even able to greet a potential client properly… How do you want the client to go further after that? They have no language skills – and, even more surprising, their level of French is not much better! For technicians to do their job properly, they need to understand what they must do… And they often don’t!

● <B> Have you been able to find the reasons for such a disastrous situation?</B>

When we asked managers what they thought, many said that the people employed did not have the basic language skills. How then would they be able to deal with technical problems in that language? Most of them pointed at the education system, which does not meet expectations. When students leave school, they do not have the right skills. As most managers base themselves on academic results when recruiting staff , they do not really know if these people can deal with the language on a daily basis. And they think it is not their job to give those skills to their staff…

<I>As long as there is no definite policy by the government on English teaching, there will be no change. In Singapore, they have succeeded because their minister of Education realised that, as a communication and economic tool, English had to be given a special place in the education system.</I>

● <B>Here we are again with the education system, which does not meet expectations…</B>

When the British Council’s report was made public, I could only say ‘Yes, they are perfectly right!’ I did not have the tools to conduct such a study but that was exactly the feeling I had about the level of English in schools… When I started to work on this report, I could not imagine I would find myself researching into the education system. I really didn’t expect it – but I have to admit it is at the basis of all other problems. CPE results in English between 1996 and 2004 reveal that only 23% of the pupils achieve really good results. All the others either fail or obtain mediocre or reasonable grades. How do you want those pupils to obtain good results in the secondary sector afterwards? The ministry admits there is a problem but they have not taken any decision so far. As long as there is no definite policy by the government on English teaching, there will be no change. In Singapore, they have succeeded because their minister of Education realised that English had to be given a special place in the education system.

● <B>So, a strong desire by the government is certainly a first step… But then, do you have any other concrete recommendations?</B>

In the seventies, there was a definite debate on how to improve English levels. Since the nineties however, it has been diluted by talking about literacy and numeracy without pointing at English as the real problem. Mauritius is the only country of the Commonwealth where English has regressed. In the short term, the media have a great role to play in the promotion of English – newspapers, the MBC or the cinema. In schools, English should be taught in a pleasurable way. Why not try and make Channel 5 available in all schools so that they can hear English on television?

● <B>And in the longer term?</B>

The upgrading of English teaching methodology and materials is highly recommended. Resources should be centralised through the setting-up of a national resource library under the aegis of the ministry of Education including basic textbooks and reading books as well as audiovisual materials for distribution in schools on a loan basis for the school year. Also, the book stock of school libraries should be improved by distributing books on a loan basis once a term through a system of library vans – as in the UK where it has been on since I was a child myself. A pool of qualified native-speaker English language teachers should also be brought back into the education system. Finally, as in Singapore or India, an English language centre appears highly necessary to make sure that the teaching of English keeps pace with the demands of the global market-place…

● <B>All this appears to give quite a dark view of the future, doesn’t it?</B>

I must admit that I am very, very worried at the moment. We are not up to standard and I can’t see why companies abroad would be interested in doing business with Mauritius in those conditions. We should get away from the emotional debate over languages and realise that English is the language of the economy and is an essential tool if we are to stand on our own two feet. We have the means to change this situation but I can’t understand why we are playing a waiting game. We have a resource problem so why do we implement a system where 40% of the kids will drop out? After competition at the CPE level, many will not be able to achieve successful secondary education… I just hope that the backlash is sufficient today to act as a wake-up call to people. Globalisation means competition and we will not survive if we do not move quickly. Some private initiatives – particularly in the hotel industry – are showing the way but there should be a more global move – starting with education…