EDUCATION SYSTEM
Twelve teachers run language adaptation classes in 20 primary and secondary schools
26.02.09 - 14:54 -
MARBELLA. Schools organise events to encourage integration. / J-L
Children of a total of 108 nationalities currently study alongside Spanish pupils in public and subsidised primary and secondary schools in Marbella. Over the years the education system has had to adapt to the increasingly varied mixture of languages and cultures living on the Costa del Sol, introducing services such as language adaptation classes for foreign pupils, known as ATAL (Aulas Temporales de Adaptación Lingüística).
Now teaching staff from the Marbella-Coín district have complained that the number of teachers provided by the Junta de Andalucía to give this extra language tuition has not increased at the same rate as the volume of foreign students.
In fact, of the 20,753 students enrolled in schools in the municipality of Marbella, 4,166 come from another country. However the area only has 12 special ATAL teachers to go round 20 schools, a situation the staff claim is insufficient.
On the up
The proportion of pupils from other countries is increasing every year. While in the 2007/2008 academic year 18 per cent of Marbella’s schoolchildren were foreign, this year the percentage has gone up to 20 per cent.
The proportion of pupils from other countries is increasing every year. While in the 2007/2008 academic year 18 per cent of Marbella’s schoolchildren were foreign, this year the percentage has gone up to 20 per cent.
The majority of foreign pupils come from Ecuador (596) and Morocco (552), and they are closely followed by youngsters who have come to Marbella from the United Kingdom (340).
Centres such as the Río Verde secondary school, where 19 per cent of the students are foreign, have joined the campaign for more resources. “We have asked for a full time language adaptation teacher, because at the moment we only have one three days a week”, says head teacher Pablo López. He stresses that when pupils from non Spanish speaking countries enrol at the school “the change for them is enormous and they require more intensive support”.
Needs
The Junta de Andalucía, however, believes that the area’s needs are “quite well covered”, in the words of Joaquín Perea, responsible for “intercultural” issues in the province of Malaga. According to the Junta’s calculations only 300 pupils require language assistance. The rest of the foreigners, they claim, come from Spanish-speaking countries or speak the language well enough already.
The Junta de Andalucía, however, believes that the area’s needs are “quite well covered”, in the words of Joaquín Perea, responsible for “intercultural” issues in the province of Malaga. According to the Junta’s calculations only 300 pupils require language assistance. The rest of the foreigners, they claim, come from Spanish-speaking countries or speak the language well enough already.
The Platero and the Nueva Andalucía primary schools and the Sierra Blanca secondary school are the only three in the area to have a full time ATAL teacher. Francisco Guerrero, head of Platero, points out that foreign children in the early years of primary school barely require language support classes because they soak up the Spanish naturally in the classroom.
