The Welsh news site Nation Cymru is reporting that the Welsh Government is going to modify its categorizations for linguistic models for Welsh schools for the school year starting 2022.
Until now, the Welsh model comprised five different categories, while secondary schools were divided into four categories, with many subsections. According to the Education Minister, Jeremy Miles, this system was too confusing for parents.
Therefore, primary and secondary schools will be divided into only three categories:
- Category 1 : schools will teach mostly in English, with some Welsh.
- Category 2 : schools will teach in both languages.
- Category 3 : instruction will be primarily in Welsh.
The many change here involves the inclusion of the new Dual Language model, Category 2, which will allow for students to learn half in English and half in Welsh.
This category was created based on the successful model for promoting Basque, where the number of students who receive some or all of their education in Basque has risen from 25% to 90% of grade schoolers.
Category 2 will be aimed mainly at those areas of Wales where fewer communities speak Welsh but where parents would like their children to have a better understanding of the language than they currently do.
As we were reading this, we couldn’t help but recall an entry we wrote in 2012 where Basque teacher Iñaki Piérola, while doing teacher training at a school in Llanfairpwll, Wales, and his Welsh students sang “Ilargia” by Ken Zazpi. We’ll leave the link below.
Nation Cymru – 9/1/2022 – Wales
New way of categorising schools in Wales based on Basque language success
Schools in Wales will be placed in new categories from September 2022 onwards according to how much Welsh they teach, in a move partly inspired by success in the Basque Country. Since 2007 primary schools in Wales have been divided into five different linguistic categories with secondary schools in four categories with many subsections.
(Follow) (Automatic translation)
https://aboutbasquecountry.eus/en/2012/01/11/ninos-galeses-cantan-ilargia-de-ken-zazpi-video/
Last Updated on Jan 11, 2022 by About Basque Country
