BILINGUALISM IN WALES
SIR,—May I, as the Chairman of the Central Advisory Council for Education (Wales) when the Report on ' The Place of Welsh and English in the Schools of Wales' was pre- pared, correct two errors in the letter of Mr. R. S. Lang -which appeared in last week's issue. According to Mr. Lang the Council proposes that Welsh children " should NOT be taught English." This is an absurdity which the Council does not propose. In the second place it is stated that the Council " demands compulsory Welsh." This, too, is not the case.
The policy of the Council is set out clearly in the following sentence: " Having due regard to the varied abilities and aptitudes of pupils and of 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 such instruction." In those areas where there is no supporting Welsh-speaking background we should not ask Welsh of children lacking linguistic ability. In the Welsh-speaking areas English influences are powerful so that it is comparatively easy to teach English to the Welsh-speaking child. But at present in these areas some few children of very low linguistic ability-are quite unable to learn any language other than their own. The Council foresees that this situation will continue.—Yours faithfully, RICHARD I. AARON
University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
Previous page
