This paper presents a detailed analysis of how Welsh language training in the public sector workplace in north Wales is planned and delivered. Specific attention is given to the effectiveness of strategic management on both the macro level (Welsh Government, Welsh Language Board/Welsh Language Commissioner) and the micro level (individual public…

This paper presents a thematic analysis of public sector discourse on the values assigned to regional minority and community languages within the UK and Finland. This paper draws from semi-structured interviews conducted in Manchester, Cardiff, Helsinki, and Rovaniemi. Two key themes emerged from the interview data: "Language as a Resource…

This study examines the motivations of learners studying Welsh in the city of Esquel, Argentine Patagonia. Welsh is considered a heritage immigrant language in this region, given the fact that a group of Welsh settlers arrived in 1865 and established successful settlements. After a flourishing period, the process of acculturation reduced the…

This article compares the immersion-education systems in Brittany and Wales. The number of Welsh speakers is growing thanks to its well-developed immersion-education system. Brittany has a much less well-developed system and the number of Breton speakers is falling dramatically. Urgent action is needed if Breton is to survive. Using an approach…

This paper aims to illuminate the role of sub-state languages in the integration process of migrants in two sub-state regions: Wales in the UK and the Basque Autonomous Community in Spain. We investigate how language and the idea of 'belongingess' based on language learning and knowledge are constructed in the integration policies in these two…

This article reports on a study of two contrasting secondary schools, serving the same "community" in south-west Wales; a bilingual school (Welsh and English) and an English-medium school (English only). Data were gathered using ethnographic methods, with this study focusing primarily on data elicited through "ethnographic…

The Welsh language, which is indigenous to Wales, is one of six Celtic languages. It is spoken by 562,000 speakers, 19% of the population of Wales, according to the 2011 U.K. Census, and it is estimated that it is spoken by a further 200,000 residents elsewhere in the United Kingdom. No exact figures exist for the undoubted thousands of other…

This article discusses the importance of adult language learning when a minority language is threatened. Language acquisition planning attempts to reproduce the language across generations. The research context is Wales with its strong history of adults learning Welsh. The history of the Welsh language shows a decline in the last century, but…

In this paper we review and compare language policy in relation to adult numeracy education in Wales and New Zealand with respect to the Maori and Welsh languages in the latest stage of our international comparative study of adult numeracy education. While much has been written about the relationship between language and literacy, the relationship…

This paper examines bilingual children's use of language inside and out of the minority language classroom. A total of 145 children between 8 and 11 years of age, attending 16 bilingual Welsh-English primary schools in North Wales, responded to questionnaires (supplemented by classroom observations) requesting information about their language…

Examines the effect in the primary and secondary school levels of teaching through the medium of Welsh and the response of the University of Wales. The media and the educational system are two formal social organizations which help the threatened Welsh language to survive. Another would be the establishment of a Welsh-medium university. (SED)

This pamphlet summarizes findings of a survey of Welsh-medium nursery education in Wales as of 1968. Information about premises, equipment, and activities was collected by means of questionnaires, interviews, and visits to sample schools. The survey covers voluntary Welsh-medium nursery schools, but local authority-maintained classes were included…

This pamphlet offers some suggestions on the use of Welsh as a second language in Welsh schools. In the present-day situation the goal of a bilingual Wales is far from realized; it appears that equal fluency in both languages is seldom achieved. A case is made for: (1) thorough grounding in a child's home language before the introduction of a…

This article describes an experiment in early Welsh-English bilingual education which was begun in September of 1968 with 35 children and which continued for two years. There was one male teacher who used mostly Welsh and taught for one hour per day. The average age of the children at the beginning of the two-year experiment was five years, two…

This report describes bilingual education programs in England that promote the Welsh and Gaelic languages. The section on Welsh includes discussions of: the history of the Welsh language, the Welsh books scheme to promote the availability of published materials in Welsh, the activities of the national language unit of Wales, external examinations,…