Is Welsh Just for School? Factors Influencing Teenagers’ Social Use of Welsh and Implications for Other Minority Languages
Author(s):
John Owen (presenting / submitting)
Conference:
ECER 2014
Network:
21. Emerging Researchers' Group (for presentation at Emerging Researchers' Conference)
Format:
Paper

Session Information

ERG SES C 12, Language and Education

Paper Session

Time:
2014-09-01
11:00-12:30
Room:
FPCEUP - 252
Chair:
Henrique Vaz

Contribution

While the uptake of Welsh medium education has been steadily increasing, the use of the language in the playground and outside of school, especially at secondary level, remains very limited, despite many and varied initiatives by schools and community agencies to address the issue. This reflects the common problem of minority languages acquired through immersion at school not being used within the community, as noted in, e.g., Nicholas 2009 (Hopi - North American indigenous language) and Gardner & Zalbide 2005:69f (Basque).

I consider that in-depth and wide-ranging research is required to discover the reasons why the students involved do not choose to use Welsh as the language of their personal and community lives, in order to identify effective remedies.  It is hoped that the findings of this research will throw light on the social use of minority languages in general and offer possible ways forward.

Method

The research will take the form of a series of purposive case studies in schools in Wales in differing linguistic and demographic contexts supplemented by interviews with experts in this and related fields in Wales and internationally. Findings from both qualitative (for example, attitudes to the social use of Welsh) and quantitative (for example, estimated actual use of Welsh) data will be analysed, including thematically in the case of the qualitative data, and used in formulating recommendations as to best practice in encouraging minority language use by school students within the community.

Expected Outcomes

Preliminary findings on the factors which consistently seem to play a part in the use / non use of Welsh in social contexts will be presented, and the implications for other minority language contexts will be discussed.

References

Gardner, N. & M. Zalbide 2005. Basque Acquisition Planning. International Journal of the Sociology of Language 174, 55-72 Nicholas, S. 2009. “I Live Hopi, I Just Don't Speak It”—The Critical Intersection of Language, Culture, and Identity in the Lives of Contemporary Hopi Youth. Journal of Language, Identity & Education 8, 321-334

Author Information

John Owen (presenting / submitting)
Bangor University
Education
Wrexham

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