Transcript Templed PowerPoint Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg

Paths to fluency: the
role of Welshmedium education in
Wales
Dr Catrin Redknap
Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg/ Welsh
Language Board, Cardiff, Wales
[email protected]
Wales and the Welsh language: background
facts
• Population of Wales: 2.9 million
• Welsh speakers in 2001: 20.8% (582,400)
[18.7% in 1991, 19% in 1981]
% able to speak Welsh
60
50
%
40
30
20
10
0
1891 1901 1911 1921 1931 1941 1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001
Cyfrifiad / Census
Percentage of Welsh speakers
amongst children 5 -15 years
old: 40.8%
1944 Education Act: gave pupils the right to be
educated in accordance with the wishes of their
parents
1947: first local authority-funded primary school
1956: first local authority-funded secondary school
2008: 20.6% of primary-aged children in classes where
Welsh the only or main medium of education
2006/07: 40,702 pupils received their education in
Welsh-medium secondary schools (corresponding
figure for 1991: 27,897)
‘Paths to fluency: the role of Welshmedium education in Wales’
• Paths – one or several?
• Paths – providing and maintaining them,
and keeping pupils on the path
• Fluency – what is it and how do we
achieve it?
Paths – one or several?
•
Welsh-medium/immersion from the early years:
recognised route to successful acquisition of
skills
•
Late immersion
•
Are there alternative models of delivery?
Providing and maintaining paths, and keeping
pupils on the path
• Planning availability of provision and access to it
• Clear routes of progression, and planning for
continuity
Fluency
• Challenges of the Welsh-medium learning setting: pupils from nonWelsh-speaking backgrounds
• Pupils with variety of linguistic needs
• Welsh and English in contact
• Willingness / reluctance to use Welsh
• Crucial link between fluency and usage
Recurring themes:
•
•
•
•
•
Strategic planning
Structural / organisational mechanisms
Teaching methodologies
Practitioner supply and expertise
Support materials and resources
Paths: one or several?
Recognised benefits of Welsh-medium and
immersion education from the early years
1971: Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin (Welsh-medium preschool Playgroups Association)
Welsh-medium Early Years Provision: Challenges
• Varying linguistic needs of children
• Working in a mixed economy
• Resources and staffing (initial training and INSET)
Need for further work on our understanding of
principles of immersion education
• To inform all developments, including training
• European-funded project to clarify principles of early years
immersion methodology, and share good practice
• Immersion education units in early years qualifications
Late immersion
• Established practices in Wales
• Centres for Latecomers
Language Learning through Immersion and Intensive
Methods: Welsh Assembly Government-sponsored
project, developed by the Welsh Language Board
Findings and implications:
•
•
•
•
•
Dedicated structures and support mechanisms
Partnership between primary and secondary sectors
Continuity and Progression
Teacher Training
Materials and Accreditation
Are there alternative paths?
Welsh as a ‘second language’?
Providing and maintaining paths, and keeping
pupils on the path
Availability and accessibility of provision:
•
•
•
•
•
Strategic planning
Identification of gaps in provision
Transport
Working in partnership
Transition from one sector to the next
• Is the Welsh-medium option available?
• Are pupils aware of the importance of
continuity?
• National, local authority and school
policy
Welsh Language Board Project on Linguistic
Continuity
• Small number of pilot schools
• Transition from primary to secondary school and
within secondary provision
• Identify factors limiting take-up of Welsh-medium
provision
• Work with local authorities, schools, pupils and
parents to increase levels of continuity
Welsh Language Board Project on Linguistic
Continuity
• Local authority and school policy
• Availability of provision: teacher supply and expertise
– training needs
• Parental awareness and pupil engagement –
attitudinal factors
Fluency
Aim: to produce pupils who are functionally fluent in
as broad a range as possible of skills and
sociolinguistic contexts
Challenges:
• Welsh in constant contact with English
• Welsh limited to language of school for
significant proportions of pupils
• Attitudinal factors and influence of social
networks
Fluency: Classroom-based considerations
Curricular planning and teaching methodologies
•
Principles of immersion education
•
•
•
Intensity of Welsh-medium input
Linguistic balance between Welsh and English
Catering for pupils’ different linguistic needs
Teacher Training
•
•
Accurate assessment of numbers
required: national strategy
Methodology: principles of immersion and
Welsh-medium delivery
Materials
• Equal availability of Welsh-medium resources
• Speed of production
• Corpus planning and terminology
Fluency: Extending beyond the classroom
Promoting Welsh as the language of the
playground and social networks
Welsh Language Board Project: Promoting
and Supporting Language Use
Working in Partnership within the Community
Welsh as the language of employment
• Perceptions of the value of Welsh
• Opportunities to use Welsh in the workplace
Welsh in technology and the media
Communicating with pupils and their
parents:
• Information to parents
• Advice, guidance and marketing
• Careers advice
Conclusions
•
Successes of Welsh-medium education
provision
•
Early years Welsh-medium provision / Late
immersion
Conclusions
•
Journey to fluency: rewarding but
challenging
•
Combined effort of school and community
References
Further Information on Welsh-medium Education:
http:www.byig-wlb.org.uk
Welsh Assembly Government Welsh-medium
Education Strategy (Consultation Draft):
http://wales.gov.uk/docs/dcells/consultation/090507wms
en.pdf
Resources:
http://www.wjec.co.uk
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk
http://old.accac.org.uk/eng/content.php?cID=3