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



Wales is part of the United Kingdom and do use the English language! However, Wales unlike the rest of the UK has their own language and the Welsh government have their ambitions to almost double the number of Welsh speakers launched, July 2017. "According to a 2011 census, 19% of the country can speak the Welsh language." (Population UK, 2018) The last census compared to the one in 2001 showed a slight decrease of people speaking the Welsh language. (Stats Wales, 2018) According to the First Minister, Carwyn Jones, said: “Welsh is one of our treasures, and is part of what defines us as a nation – whether we speak the language or not.” I have said what Welsh is and how it came in two existences and the values of teaching the Welsh language within our Primary education sector. In 2013/2014 a survey was conducted called the Welsh Language use survey shows that 11% or 310,000 of aged 3 are above could speak Welsh who are living in Wales could speak it fluently. (Wales Online, 2015) Even with this recent survey it again showed a decrease in how many people speak the Welsh language fluently. 



Back in 1988, the Government of Wales brought in the Education Reforms Act which made Welsh a compulsory part of the National Curriculum of Wales. This was a stepping stone in the right direction to increase the number of people who would speak Welsh. However, that was introduced 30 years ago, and a lot has changed. 



Graham Donaldson recognises the importance but also the benefits of the Welsh language. He has highlighted the Welsh language as a central part of the New National Curriculum. As he has recommended rather than have separate subjects he has suggested to have six areas of learning and experience to also incorporate Welsh. These recommendations came from Professor Donaldson in a report he produced called Successful Futures back in Jan 2015. 



In 2006 a survey was undertaken by the European Commission 56 percent of respondents reported being able to speak in a language other than their mother tongue. - Other countries have reported even higher percentages with Luxembourgers having 99 percent and 95 percent of Latvians speak more than one language. (Europeans and their languages, 2006) Compared to data in Wales to other Europeans countries, Wales are falling behind with people lacking the fluency of the language and that is down to several factors. 



I have briefly reviewed and compared to other National countries with a different language on how many speak it fluently etc. I am going to be exploring further the value of the Welsh language to people in Wales. Does it help develop children's other skills by learning a second language at primary school and if so how?



According to the current Education Minister for Wales, she said ‘It opens doors. No door is shut to you if you can speak Welsh’ ‘If you can speak Welsh, there are more job opportunities.’ By being bilingual and having the ability to understand a second language has several benefits which include better improvements in cognitive and sensory processing by bilingual experience will help the learner better process information around them which helps their overall learning. (The Cognitive Benefits of being Bilingual, 2012) Also Bilingual people outperform monolingual people in spatial working memory tasks. (British Council, 2014) Which again shows another value of introducing a second language to children in primary education sooner rather than later.



In 2017 the Welsh in Education Action Plan runs over four years initially and will focus on partnership work across all tiers within the education system. It also will recognise that practitioners will need extra support with the language especially those going through initial Teacher training. - This will give further opportunities for practitioners to work in Welsh-medium and bilingual settings. It has also been highlighted in the action plan that the education system has a key influence on young people’s potential to use the Welsh language in their every day lives. (Education Action Plan, 2017) The welsh government’s vision is to enable all learners to develop their Welsh language skills and to use the language confidently in everyday life. (Education Action Plan, 2017) The more the government do to promote the benefits and provide ways for learners to learn more people will use the language reaching their target total of 1 million people by 2050.








In the video above parents were worried because they couldn’t speak a word of Welsh and was worried as they wouldn’t be able to help their child with their homework if it was in Welsh and would they have any opportunities outside of Wales when they are older. 97% of children who attend the school don’t come from a Welsh speaking background. They also develop further skills by learning an additional language and the children think its amazing to have learnt two languages compared to just one. As in Wales most organisations are looking for people who can speak both languages and are more employable than just speaking the one language.



There are several benefits having an easier time: learning other languages, thinking about language, developing strong thinking skills, and growing in other areas of cognitive development. Also benefit academically: they are able to switch between languages, helping them develop a more flexible approach to problem solving. It was also noted that, “The ability to read and think in two (or more) different languages promotes higher levels of abstract thought, which is important in learning.” Have a diversify society by using their second language to build friendships and have more job opportunities than monolingual adults.



Those aren’t the only benefits as there are several more… If they have a strong native language learning another language enhances their literacy abilities. It also allows “increases the rate at which they read comfortably…” (Grape Seed, 2017) They also get better grades but also build confidence fast as they become more competent learning the second language.



A study carried out by Washington State University in Seattle development starts when they turn 11 months and it’s also when they’re ready to say their first words. According to this study babies who were from bilingual families were more developed than ones with just one language. (Sarah Griffiths, 2016)



“Science indicates that babies’ brains are the best learning machines ever created, and that infants’ learning is time-sensitive. Their brains will never be better at learning a second language than they are between 0 and 3 years of age,” said co-author Patricia Kuhl, co-director of I-LABS and a UW professor of speech and hearing sciences. So introducing another language or verbally saying different languages is crucial to children’s development so they get to grasp another language in no time at all.



Within this blog we have explored several aspects of why the Welsh language adds value to a child’s education in Wales. – These benefits of learning Welsh add prospects to their future by living in Wales and gives them more opportunities over others by being bilengual. We have had a look at what commits Wales has in place to reach its commitment of having over 1 million people speak the language fluently by 2050 and what they need to put in place to support this happening. Overall by learning Welsh compulsory from a young age is crucial to embrace the language and is easier to absorb! 





References: 



·         Clifton H (2016) Do immigrants to Wales have enough opportunity to learn Welsh [Online] Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-37296678 {Accessed 14/4/2018}

·         European Commission Special Eurobarometer. (2006). Europeans and their languages. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf {Accessed 13/4/2018}

·         Maran V and Shook A (2012) The cognitive benefits of being bilingual: Cerebrum

·         Welsh Government (2017) Ambitious plans to almost double the number of welsh speakers launched [Online] Available from: http://gov.wales/newsroom/welshlanguage/2017/ambitious-plans-to-almost-double-the-number-of-welsh-speakers-launched/?lang=en {Accessed 5/4/2018}

·         Welsh Government (2017) Welsh in education [Online] Available from: http://gov.wales/docs/dcells/publications/171212-welsh-in-education-action-plan-2017-21-en.pdf {Accessed 15/4/2018} 

·         Welsh Government (2011) Welsh speakers by local authority and broader age groups [Online] Available from: https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Welsh-Language/WelshSpeakers-by-LA-BroaderAge-2001And2011Census {Accessed 12/4/2018}

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Comments

  1. Rachael Dunn27 April 2018 at 02:49

    Hi reading this blog has made me wonder why the latest consensus showed that the number of people speaking welsh in wales has decreased since 2001 as you have stated, I wonder why this decrease has happened with all the attention and promotion from the welsh government etc. Do you feel there is enough being done to strengthen and re-introduce the welsh language back into wales?

    As you have stated the Education Reform Act 1988 hasn't really effected the speaking of welsh within wales at all, are the new changed proposed for the curriculum really going to change the current situation or as the Education Reform Act 1988 did, make little difference?, I believe that for the welsh language to thrive and flourish throughout education in wales children need to understand the importance and the history.

    Although many argue that welsh is important for job prospects etc. I have found some counter arguments which I did find quite interesting, Belfield (2015) argues that forcing children to learn welsh can lead to them becoming weaker in education when compared to students who aren't forced to learn welsh, Belfield believes that students who speak welsh as their first language have less of a chance to attend the best ranked UK Universities when compared to students who speak English as their first language (Williams, 2015).

    Here is the article, have a read I found it rather interesting to explore the counter arguments to the push in welsh language in Wales,
    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/forcing-pupils-learn-welsh-keep-9256782


    Reference
    K. Williams, (2015), 'Forcing pupils to learn Welsh will keep them weaker than English counterparts' Private school head causes outcry with language claim. Available from:https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/forcing-pupils-learn-welsh-keep-9256782 , accessed 2th April 2018.

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