BILINGUALISM IN WALES
SIR,—i was very pleased to read that in the opinion of the Chairman of the Advisory Council I was in error, both in thinking that the Council demanded compulsory Welsh and in stating that some Welsh pupils would not be taught English. For the logical conclusion of the Chairman's statement is that the Council requires only optional Welsh and all Welsh-speaking children will be taught Eng- lish, and that therefore the Chairman and I are in agreement.
But the report remains. Para. 261 reads: " . . . This leads to the fundamental require- ment that schools must teach the two languages. Having due regard, therefore, to the varied abilities and aptitude of pupils, and bf the varied linguistic patterns in which, at present, they live, the children of the whole of Wales and Monmouthshire should be taught Welsh and English according to their ability to profit from the instruction. This recom- mendation implies that consideration should be given to the desirability of teaching only their mother tongue to children with relevant physical, or mental disabilities, and to children whose lack of ability together with poor sup- porting linguistic background makes the learn- ing of a second language, whether English or Welsh, acutely burdensome. With these ex- ceptions we believe a second language, Welsh or English, can and should be taught with advantage to all the children of Wales and Monmouthshire."
It was from this recommendation that I drew ' the conclusions that the Council demanded compulsory Welsh and that some Welsh-speaking children (whether their parents wished tt or not) would NOT be taught English unless they had linguistic ability. (I cannot understand why Professor Aaron in quoting me should have omitted the words I have italicised and produced the ' absurdity ' to which he refers.)
The Chairman admits that some children falling within that category will not be taught English. He says they are few. It would surely be preferable that there Should be none, and that special arrangements should be made where necessary. Once the principle is ad• mitted, there can be no guarantee about numbers in the future.
In the official Summary of the Report we read, on p. 17: " This policy would result ultimately in making all but a few exceptions among the pupils bilingual. . . . It could not succeed, however, unless the teaching of the second language were conceived as a pattern spread over the whole period of statutory education." On p. 12: " For Wales bilin- gualism implies the simultaneous learning of two languages by an individual sometimes from an early age."
The Report (section 175) shows that of some 330,000 pupils English was the first language of some 280,000. It also says (section 265) that doubt sometimes may arise as to which is the first language. In such
cases the decision must be left to the teacher. ",For there are obvious difficulties in making the wishes of the parents The decisive factor."
At the age of seven English-speaking pupils will begin their study of Welsh and continue the study until they reach the age of fifteen —irrespective of their own wishes and those of their parents (section 264).
According to the Ministry Pamphlet No. 6 (p. 12), the Welsh-speaking child will not be taught English until he reaches the primary school, and then will be taught only spoken English. He will give more time to English in the secondary school, but a good deal of the teaching will be in Welsh. The pamphlet says (p. 18) that some secondary schools already use Welsh as a medium of instruction in certain subjects, and should use it in more. —e.g., in mathematics and science, when a technical vocabulary has been established. It also states (p. 19): " If the idea of bilingual Wales has any meaning, then the children should have an education which will enable them to treat every subject in both languages; educational policy throughout Wales should be aiming at the ideal of bilingual teachers."
These proposals may or may not be in the interests of the Welsh language; in my opinion they are not in the interests of children (whether Welsh-speaking or English-speaking) torn in the twentieth century. if the interests of the children conflict with those of a language, the interests of the children should prevail.—Yours faithfully,
R. S. LANO
The Grammar School, Haverfordwest, Pemba.
Previous page
