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What is the value of the Welsh language in primary education?




 

What is the value of the Welsh language in primary education?



The History


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A brief introduction to the History of the Welsh language is that apart from Latin and Greek, the Welsh language has the oldest literature in Europe. Along with Latin Welsh was the language of the law. It was the Act of union 1536, which made Wales officially part of England further affecting uniquely ‘Welsh’ aspects of Wales. However, following the Education Reform Act 1988, Welsh became compulsory for every pupil at Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 in 1990. From September 1999, compulsion was extended to Key Stage 4 (Donaldson, 2015). 


Curriculum focus: 
Although nowadays in many primary schools within Wales it is still seen that English is the first language spoken by many if not all the students, the welsh language is still a compulsory as well as a significant influence upon the current Welsh curriculum. The importance of the Welsh language within education, primary in particular, has also been recognised and emphasised within the new curriculum as there is a firm commitment to the Welsh language, bilingualism and the inclusion of a Welsh dimension in the education of all children and young people (Donaldson, 2015). The Successful futures report (2015) recognised and reported the ‘best things’ about education in Wales were again the Welsh language, bilingualism as well as the focus on Welsh identity within the Curriculum Cymreig. The Welsh Government’s ambition is for a country where Welsh-medium education and training are integral parts of the education infrastructure. They want to ensure that the education system makes it possible for learners of all ages to have the opportunity to require a wider range of language skills in Welsh. By doing this it will enable learners to use the language in their personal lives, socially and in the workplace. (Welsh Government, 2010).  In terms of the four purposes of the new curriculum, being able to learn and communicate in Welsh will help children in becoming ambitious, capable learners (Donaldson, 2015). 


Strategies:
Image result for welsh in classroomsA living language: a language for living (The Welsh Language Strategy, 2012) is a strategy within Wales which sets out a plan for increasing the number of people who both speak and use the language. This strategy is crucial as from my experience within both primary and secondary school I found many teachers as well as parents struggle to engage with and have an interest in their child and even themselves learning the Welsh language. Luckily for myself I have always had a significant interest in learning Welsh throughout my time in school, taking it for both GCSE and A-level. Although it was compulsory even in GCSE, the government still allowed students the choice to take half or full welsh median GCSE. I feel full course should have been compulsory as although children are being taught Welsh from early primary age, I feel greater interest would be held through secondary school if Welsh was made a core subject as we live and embrace its culture every day. This could be done by the influence of strategies in primary schools when children are learning welsh by giving children opportunities to work in pairs and groups and giving pupils clear instructions to their learning (Satchwell, 1995). For example, children could be set a task to create their own menu for a café, but the menu must be in Welsh. By doing this it encourages children to engage and communicate in Welsh as a group as well as gain new vocabulary as they may have to look up or ask for the Welsh words they are looking for. More strategies could include creating lesson plans that involve welsh music, role-play and drama to further encourage active participation by the pupils (Satchwell, 1995). The involvement of music, role play and creativity within Welsh lessons in primary school can be used towards the preparation of the schools Eisteddfod. The Eistedfodd is a cultural festival, held through the medium of Welsh both in and outside of schools (National Eistedfodd, 2019).  The day consists of children dressing up and celebrating Welsh culture within their schools and showing off their talents through a variety of competitions. For me the celebration of the Eistedfodd is crucial to the value of Welsh language within schools, as although its only a day it allows children celebrate and understand the importance of the culture and language of the country, they live in. 


The future of the language:
The future of Welsh language and Welsh culture is wholly dependent on transmitting the language to our young people (Davies, 2013). In 2014/15, there were 391 Welsh-medium primary schools in Wales compared to 862 English medium schools in Wales (National Assembly, 2016).  It’s clear from this that the future value of the Welsh language within primary education lies wholly within the current and future generation of children and their learning. Although we do not know the future of the Welsh language of course, I feel the introduction of the new curriculum will allow the opportunity of the number of Welsh speakers, those being children within primary school to grow.
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References:

BBC Wales (2014) 1536 Act of Union. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/history/sites/themes/periods/tudors_05.shtml (Accessed 25th March 2019).

National Eistedfodd. What is the Eistedfodd? Available at: https://eisteddfod.wales/business/background (Accessed 25th March 2019).

National Assembly Wales (2016) Welsh-medium education and Welsh as a subject. Available at: http://www.assembly.wales/research%20documents/rs16-048/16-048-english-web.pdf (Accessed 25th March 2019).

Satchwell, P and De Silva, J. (1995) Catching them young, Young Pathfinder, London: CILT.

Successful futures. (2015) Independent Review of Curriculum and Assessment Arrangements in Wales. Available at: https://beta.gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-03/successful-futures.pdf (Accessed 25th March 2019).

Welsh Government (2012) A living language: a language for living – Welsh Language Strategy   2012–17. Available at: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-12/welsh-language-strategy-2012-to-2017-moving-forward.pdf (Accessed 25th March 2019).

Welsh Government (2010) Welsh-medium Education Strategy. Available at: https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/4248/1/100420welshmediumstrategyen.pdf (Accessed 25th March 2019)

Welsh Government (2013) One language for all. Available at: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2018-05/review-of-welsh-second-language-at-key-stages-3-and-4.pdf (Accessed 25th March 2019).





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