Four reasons why you should support the Welsh language

Try having a son in Penglias in Aberystwyth where the Welsh 2nd language teacher has already given up on a class, spending most of each lesson reading from Powerpoint slides. No matter what we do as parents, we can't overcome that. School senior staff are condescending when we raised the issue. Despite our best efforts, our son is now determined not to learn Welsh. Your aspirations set out in the article are great, but the education system in Wales is turning out a subset of children for who Welsh language education experience has only been very negative.

Why would you send your son to Penglais when there is Penweddig? It seems that you made a choice for your son not to be fluent in both languages. The crime is that schools like Penglais exist at all in Wales. Education should be through the medium of Welsh (which means a bilingual school) from primary onwards, with immersion teaching to get immigrants from England up to speed and into mainstream education as quickly as possible.

As I have intimated here before, languages should NOT be taught in schools. Not just Cymraeg but all languages. The teaching (cough) in most 'state' schools is so abysmal that for example the only French I remembered after eight years of school is 'la plume de ma tante!' Children absorb languages very easily and quickly if they are 'immersed' in a language in the playground, at home, in shops and eventually in a work environment. Imposition or forced learning of a language never works.

The economic benefits need to be said again and again, because of the sheer variation of economic benefits which can come from the language. Festivals like the Eisteddfod and Tafwyl are merely one form. In nations like Iceland, where packaging must be in the native language, an entire industry has been created to Iceland-fy everything, which employs thousands of people and which has created a film industry bigger than the entire GDP of some nations, pumping out 12 Icelandic language films a year of high standard. That's 1 film a month in their native language; was Hedd Wyn the last Welsh film of note? Imagine the economic benefits of producing 12 Welsh films a year! Not to mention that damaging summer home tourism can be turned into a nourishing form of tourism benefiting the native language and local entrepreneurs through selling the language as an inseparable part of the landscape.

While agreeing in principle with Dewi, the point raised by 'hackedoffplaid supporter' is important. The fact that Welsh as a subject in Secondary schools became compulsory in the 1990s was an important step forward and the result of decades of campaigning. However there has continued to be active and passive resistance in schools where Welsh lessons are often under resourced in time, there is a lack of teaching materials and where a generally negative attitude continues. As a result of these negative pressures the job of Welsh language teachers in English medium schools is often very difficult. Add to that the need for exam success within the parameters of inadequate support and the result is that teachers are often forced to get their classes to learn by rote in order to pass the exam. The Welsh government has now reneged on their promise of improving the status of Welsh language teaching in English medium schools by replacing the subject of 'Welsh language second language' with a 'Welsh language continuum'. The other aspect of this issue is the fantastic work happening in some English medium primary schools. One of my learners in Gwent gives me weekly reports of the amazing use of 'incidential Welsh' in an ordinary English medium primary school in one of the most anglicised towns in South Wales. The Welsh government has introduced standards for English medium primary schools in their use of Welsh which are pretty challenging. Then the children having worked hard on acheiving a basic fluency in the language go to secondary and have to start from the beginning, and are wholly disheartened, because there is no equivalent compulsion on secondary schools. Then looking at the provision of Welsh medium education. This is still dreadfully inadequate compared with the demand. Many councils have resisted opening Welsh medium schools for decades and then only slowly allowing a handful of schools to be introduced. There is little promotion of the advantages of bilingual education but despite the lack of promotion every year hundreds of children throughout Wales are turned away from Welsh medium schools because there are not enough places. There has been no official research into the demand for Welsh medium education, but unofficial surveys have shown, even without any promotion of the advantages, that even in the most anglicised parts of Wales over 30% of parents would like Welsh medium education for their children. The number of places available - less than 5%. It is estimated that Cardiff needs 10 new Welsh medium primaries now to cope with the demand with many of the current schools being massively over-subscribed. So clearly there needs to be a change in the attitudes in English medium secondary schools. Given the massive advantages of bilingualism the attitude of senior staff in Penglais is completely unprofessional. Hopefully the local Assembly member is going to raise this appalling attitude with the minister of Education. Although in terms of young people's attitude, being aware of the great music by Welsh bands such as Swnâmi can help them see their relevance to their lives:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEBE1YVmFdM

The answer can lie anywhere from outright opposition to Welsh, to passive opposition from those who speak Welsh but are unfriendly to Welsh learners. There's no simple solution to building competencies in those wish to begin, or raise standards. The more esoteric arguments of culture and Nationhood is at a distance, or even over hill. Unnoticed. The arguement for its existence can only be achieved with the much broader mind set of drivers, and that is identification with first role models, try Aaron Ramsey, or even Kelly of Pobl y Cwm! And then all Welsh speakers promoting its use, wider than usual circles. Only by immersion, frequency of hearing, and participation in a domestic setting, where bilingual speak becomes the dominant means of communication and practiced, will numbers increase to high levels. The challenge lies therefore with both the learner but also the Welsh speaker to create the learning environment, and that includes those who have become proficient in a second language and should become lead ambassadors for others.

I would agree with Joe Chucas that Cymraeg is a cultural asset, not a liability - as the late 19th century generation were taught. But a couple of things Joe wrote that made my skin creep. Such as: "we are intent on pursuing a pluralistic society of different cultures" Who is this "we"? The anti-national PC brigade? That approach, if successful, will be the death of Wales. "we are united in diversity" This kind of oxymoronic doublspeak has no place in a nation fighting for its continued existence. Regarding Cymraeg as a "minority language" on par with other languages imported, compliments of uncontrolled mass-migration, is insulting. Cymraeg is our native language, regardless of the percentage of Welsh who speak it.

Unlike many comments I read on blogs of this nature, I see valid suggestions and views from all who have spoken thus far. It's unusual since there is a negative feel from many in Wales to the very idea and promotion or discussion on Welsh language development. Isn't the key to discovery of the real issues lie in why this is so prevalent. Is the issue really about identity ? if 30 % of parents would like Welsh taught in schools, should parents be given the ultimate choice of what is, or is not, taught in schools, Then I guess that half of the curriculum wouldn't exist for very long. We either have a National language or not. I don't see it as negotiable. Neither do I see that Welsh literature nor our rich history as negotiable either. This provides identity. Is this the answer?

There is a VERY VERY long way to go to make Wales bi-lingual........and we need to even laugh in the face of supermarkets claiming they are bilingual.....a few token welsh signs high up near the ceiling, does not make a bilingual store in West Wales

I'm glad Edeyrn has experienced favourable attitudes to Welsh learners. That's positive and encouraging. I'm sure there are others as well who have benefited by it. I choose friendly in the sense of embrace. Positively helping and engaging. To learn Welsh you put yourself as a child would put itself in learning it's language. Often repeated, fine choice of words, simple in context, actions, and with smiles and endorsement. I'm no linguist, barely proficient in any language, but willing to learn. We need a flood of communications, from different sources, and experiences. Or is this fantasy ?

If you took away the link to work and the need for a good grade, then learning English beyond Key Stage 2 would feel pointless and annoying to many teenagers. I suspect that the majority of kids learn English, because it's either compulsory, expected of them or it's an essential grade to have on the CV. I would argue that only a few are actually genuinely passionate about learning English, to any extent beyond the level of what's deemed necessary. We need to inspire a more general understanding and perhaps a bit of a love for languages and maybe do more in terms of general linguistics, linking to cultures, customs and history. These are skills that can be applied to learning other languages later in life and even for better understanding of English itself - certainly for other subjects like the sciences, which are in many ways are simply alternate languages. How can anyone really learn anything useful concerning things like grammar, comprehension or simply styles of writing in English if they are only studying one language in isolation and know nothing about how the language has evolved or how it compares.

Without the language Wales would not exist and would have been fully assimilated into England hundreds of years ago. Wales is the language. Whist it is a credit to so much hard work and political pressure that more and more children are able to be educated through the language the non Welsh speakers are a majority and must not be neglected. So support and goodwill for the language needs to be gained from the majority of non Welsh speakers in many ways but in schools with a syllabus that deals with the history and culture of Wales to replace Welsh language lessons as such which seem to alienate and bore. Much of Wales is so deprived and depressed we need to reignite our national spirit and Welsh language education in non Welsh language schools should aim at that and do that if necessary mainly through the medium of English shifting to Welsh only once enthusiasm has been inspired. Teaching as a vocation requires the highest level of education and countries like Finland that are rated best in Europe that have a teaching profession that is educated at least to master's level. I hope Wales can aspire to that too. The teachers of Welsh in non Welsh schools should be the best educated and best paid teachers of all.

I grew up in a Welsh speaking home. From about the age of 5, I only spoke English to my parents but my parents always spoke Welsh to me and never spoke to me in English throughout their lives, that may seem and sound strange to some people! When I met my wife we spoke English on the first day we met but on our second meeting we started to speak Welsh with each other and have never spoken English ever since. So I say, always speak Welsh if you can and if someone replies in English continue to speak in Welsh.

I live in Gwent and find the majority attitude on the Welsh language sad.English monoglots are not the only Europeans like this while working for the UN in Kosovo I remember a local joke,two elder Serbian men were sitting near the bridge in Mitrovica when they were approached by a French officer"parlez vous Francis?"he asked receiving blank looks he tried "sprechen Sie deutch? Again blank looks ,exasperated he tried " do you speak English?again the blank looks frustrated he walks away,one Serbian man turns to the other and says"see what am I always saying about language's he speaks three what good did it do him!Its an old joke there but I agree with most posters 2nd language Welsh is taught appallingly in my county with the passive acceptance of the local education authority and many teachers and unfortunately parents.

I was born in North Wales and am proud to call my-self a North Walian, my parents, cousins and aunty speak Welsh, and I applaud them for speaking and maintaining the language but at their own cost and by speaking it at home or within their communities. I don’t however feel that public money should be spent on this area to fund and promotion the language where the money could be spent on more pressing areas such as Health, Education and Local Councils (who desperately need extra funding). News headline today – ‘Most schools in Wales are struggling to make ends meet. We are starting to please the minority at the expense of the majority. Once you leave Wales where does speaking the language benefit you apart from living/working in Patagonia? If you study at a Welsh medium school and then decide to go to an English university you are disadvantaged by not knowing some of the English words and will therefore struggle. There should also be a reduction in the amount of paper wastage sent when I receive my utility or council tax bill bilingually. There should be a box ticked each year stating which language you would prefer to receive your bills in and this would drastically cut down the amount of recycling. The EU has 24 official languages, of which three (English, French and German) have the higher status of "procedural" languages of the European Commission. Irish is also one of the 24 but not Welsh! In regards to the comment about S4C my views on this are that it is unfair for the TV licence payer say in Norwich to fund a service that they do not benefit from, so it should be a subscription based service for those wishing to have their programmes in the Welsh medium.

Good, positive article. It is the duty of us all to promote our language, especially the economic benefits; I agree with Capitalist & WelshNash. Cymraeg makes money for Wales. Call centres in Welsh won't be found abroad. We also have a publishing industry due to our language. As a former languages teacher, I know that some school mock Welsh with just a half hour lesson a week or fortnight. What does that say to our kids?

Well, i would agree (to a point) wouldn't i. Here in Gwynedd if you are working class, the language actually holds you back. If i go to a job interview in the private sector and ask the, invariably, English boss about the company's language policy (i'm welsh speaking, proud of it and bolshy), i won't get the job. The English private sector here is as racist as most English incomers are (note the most). And since i'm a learner, my welsh is 'different' (i try to use the indigenous words, if know 'em), welsh language institutions - local council - can't bear me (bloody bolshy working class intellectuals!). (And in passing why does Cyngor Gwynedd mangage to teach welsh so badly in its schools? One of the reasons welsh is dying is because of an anglocentric world view that language acquisition is inherently impossible, so dont' try and do the impossible) Finally, i see very little argument in the piece about the human rights angle. As a welsh speaker, i am guaranteed exactly the same human rights as a speaker of any other language. That's something that the oh so pc welsh labor partei is incapable of grasping. The argument of the impeccably politically correct is that since i am able to speak german, for instance, means i can get along in the international language. Try saying to a Sikh that he temporarily doff his turban to avoid being divisive. How would a gay woman feel if told she may not form relationships the way she feels inclined on account that she is able to conform to the majority practice? Were the welsh labor partei to produce some sensible legislation that de jure granted me full rights as a welsh speaker, i suggest that that would be the way to encourage me and others to use the language more. I would start with a welsh language equal presence on all goods sold here: bilingual cornflake packets if you like (they have 'em in Belgium). The argument that the racists wouldn't tolerate doesn't stand: look at a tin of Tesco cheap beans (i'm a member of the precariat): several eastern European languages present: dim Cymraeg. Gwarthus. Who wants to speak a language that defines you as a subhuman?

Why not make it a legal right for parents in Wales, wherever they are, to insist on Welsh medium education for their children? If that is outside their local community, the council would be obliged to provide transport as needed, which might encourage them to make Welsh-medium more widely available, to avoid excessive transport costs.