Faroese language teaching “too inconsistent”

Difficulties relating to learning the Faroese language are a common problem among newcomers. 

The language itself may not be the easiest to learn, but what makes it even more difficult is that language tuition across the islands is unstructured and in great need of improvement.

This is the view of many local councils, who call for clearer directions from the Ministry of Culture regarding the teaching of Faroese as a foreign language.

More structure needed 

The national curriculum is overseen by the Ministry of Culture; however, in practice the municipal evening schools set their own curriculums for Faroese language courses. This leads to great differences in quality from one area to another.

One of the local councils struggling to meet the demand for Faroese language courses for newcomers is Fuglafjørður Municipality.

“I feel there is a lack of clarity about who has the overall responsibility in this area,” says Brynhild Petersen, evening school organiser at Fuglafjørður Municipality. “The ultimate responsibility lies with the culture ministry, but I believe that the lack of overall structure and communication in this area means that the quality of the courses is pretty random and varies from place to place and from year to year.”

She agrees with many other local councils that it is wrong to leave the evening schools with the responsibility of something as crucial to integration as the teaching of Faroese as a foreign language.

Translated by prosa.fo