Presentation made by Monica Perenya for the Study-Visit "Language learning spaces: diversity and transversality" (EU LLP CEDEFOB), April 2013 http://blocs.xtec.cat/cataloniastudyvisit2013languagelearning/
4. Usage of official languages in Catalonia (2008)
Family la llar
Membres de Friends
Amistats
0,00 500,00 1.000,00 1.500,00 2.000,00 2.500,00 0,00 500,00 1.000,00 1.500,00 2.000,00 2.500,00
Companys de feina Companys d'estudi
Work Schoolmates
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Neighbours
Veïns
0,00 500,00 1.000,00 1.500,00 2.000,00 2.500,00 Source: http://www.idescat.cat/
5. Past experiences: immersion
• Post-war social conflict (1945-1975)
• Internal Spanish immigration
• Monolingual school (Spanish)
• Foreign languages at school:
-Latin, Greek, French (subjects)
• Bilingual society (Catalan-Spanish)
• Democracy and Autonomy: 1979 & 1980
• Political action: 1983 & 1998
•School language policies with Catalan Immersion.
•Linguistic Normalisation Law; Language Policy Law
•Huge teacher training tradition: “Escola Catalana”, “Escola
d’estiu”
6. Fully endorsed implementation of second
language education methodologies
Applied elsewhere
Finland
Quebec
(Canadà) Wales
In some areas of the United Italy
States
.......
In Catalonia, since 1983, an action plan for bilingual education has been
implemented to increase learning achievement of both official
languages, Catalan and Spanish, as well as, at least, the learning of one
foreign language.
8. Present situation: CLIL Immersion
• World-wide globalisation challenges
• International immigration
• Bilingual school (Catalan-Spanish)
• Curicular languages at school:
-English, French, German, Italian
• Multilingual society, Plurilingual kids
• Language and Social Cohesion Plan: 2004-2010
• Political action: 2011-2014
•Plurilingual school language policies with complete Catalan Immersion.
•Compulsory third language:
- English or French in Primary & Optional German/Italian in
Secondary)
•Family languages taught in the school, after hours (optional).
•Main target: plurilingualism (Catalan, Spanish, English +… )
•Teacher training plans, focussed on Reading, CLIL, English + ePortfolio...
9. Languages in the Catalan Educational System
Language for
sharing opportunities
and living together
Catalan (Occitan)
Curricular Languages Extra Curricular languages
(family language, complementary
lifelong learning)
Catalan (Occitan) Arabic
Spanish Chinese
Amazig
English Rumanian
French Ukrainian
German Portuguese
Italian Galician
(Latin/Old Greek) (Quitxua)
10. Plurilingualism… how?
Plurilingual school Project
Transversal Communicative
Language of Curricular foreign communicative skills in family
schooling startegies: reading, languages (ePEL,
languages & CLIL
Initial immersion speaking Arabic,Chinese...)
CATALÀ-ARANÈS ENGLISH - FRENCH LANGUAGE EXTRA-CURRICULAR
SPANISH ITALIAN - GERMAN THROUGH SUBJECTS LANGUAGES
Human Training Teaching Organisation Othere
Management Curriculum
resources advising Matterials resources
11. Starting
The School On finishing
school: compulsory
provides every student schooling:
the linguistic skills
needed to become
competent and
engaged citizens
Speak Catalan
Know both
official
applying
second languages
Speak Catalan and
language (Catalan &
Spanish
methodologies Spanish) and
communicate,
Speak Spanish at least, in one
foreign
language
Speak neither Catalan nor Spanish,
But speak other languages
12. MP
Language and Plurilingualism
Dealing with diversity for
empowering rights and duties
reading, speaking, writing, listening, inter-acting
in several languages
In Catalonia, since 1983, an action plan for bilingual education has been implemented to increase learning achievement of both official languages, Catalan and Spanish, as well as, at least, the learning of one foreign language. That methodology has been widely essayed in different countries. The map only shows a few samples: Canada (French in Quebec), USA (English in areas with strong immigration from Spanish speaking origin), Finland (Finnish in areas with Swedish speaking minorities; Vaasa is a university of reference in this field), Wales (Welsch, United Kingdom), Italy ( Fri ulian or Romansch in Friule). But also: German : South Tirol ( in Italy ), Als ace ( in France ). • Irish Gaèlic : in Ir e land. • Bret on : western Br ittany ( in France ). • Bas que : Basque Country, Navarra ( in Spain ) and North of Euskadi ( in France ). • Catal an : in Catalonia, Valencia (Valencian strand schools), Balearic Islands (b asically in State schools), Catalan speaking area in the South of France ( La Bressola, Arrels and bilingual strands in some state schools) , in the infant school La Costura in the Alg hero ( isle of Sardinia, in Italy ) • Occit an : in Occit any ( France ), Vall d’Aran ( Spain ).
Children arrive in school knowing their family language (whatever that is). Some of them are monolingual. Other pupils are bilingual in catalan and spanish or, in some cases, in other languages. For instance, students born in Pakistan: they usually speak urdu, but they often also know panjabi, patani, even english... The Linguistic Policy Act no. 1/1998 , orders that the catalan education system must assure the right to know both official languages. So, the role of the school is: providing every student the linguistic skills to reach the competence in our two official languages, regardless of their family language, ON FINISHING COMPULSORY SCHOOLING, at 16 (Competence means be able to use correctly and fluently catalan and spanish). In addition to catalan and spanish, students at 16 also must be able to communicate, at least, in one foreign language. In fact, knowing both official languages guarantees equal rights to the citizens in our country. So, teaching in catalan, is not only a way of teaching and learning: we are also talking about equity and social cohesion.