Category Archives: Education

COMMISSIONER’S REPORT “FACES THE LANGUAGE SITUATION IN ALL ITS COMPLEXITY.”

Reply

The language organisation, Dyfodol i’r Iaith has praised the Welsh Language Commissioner’s 5-Year Report as a comprehensive and perceptive document, which nails the challenges facing the language presently and towards the future.

Heini Gruffudd, Dyfodol’r Chair said:

“The Commissioner’s message is appropriate and timely, as Wales and the Welsh language continue to cope with the effects of Covid. The Report illuminates and confirms our own worries by placing the Welsh language in its widest social and economic context and putting the emphasis firmly on its day-to-day use. We insist that The Welsh Government take the contents of this Report seriously and act accordingly.

We agree that extending Welsh medium education is essential to the growth of the language and it is good to note that the Commissioner calls for action to remedy the shortage of teachers who are qualified to teach through the medium of Welsh. Without this fundamental move, there can be no basis for achieving the Government’s ambition regarding language growth.

We are very grateful to the Commissioner for facing and outlining the language situation in all its complexity.”

 

IEUAN WYN JONES’S COMMENTS CONFIRM THE NEED FOR AN

Reply

Following Ieuan Wyn Jones’s comments in his book on his political career, Dyfodol i’r Iaith calls again for the establishment of an arms’-length Body to plan the future of the Welsh language.

According to Dyfodol i’r Iaith, extensive areas require urgent attention. The Government seems to be increasingly aware of the need for action on housing and the economy, the need to develop local communities, but implementation is lacking

Heini Gruffudd, Chair of Dyfodol i’r Iaith, said, “The lack of holistic planning is clear. The Welsh-medium education targets are becoming increasingly inadequate, there is a clear lack of funding to develop Welsh language learning for adults and in the workplace. The programme to teach Welsh to teachers is insufficient, with talk of introducing 60-hour courses, where 600-hour ones are needed.

“The establishment of an arm’s length body, with permanent specialist staff, who will be able to create a complete ongoing programme, to be accepted by various Government departments, is long overdue. Such a body would be able to give creative direction to language planning in Wales, with an emphasis on families and the community. It will be able to promote effectively and freely, and create plans over a long term. With intelligent regulation, and working with the Government’s Welsh Department, it will be possible to create robust conditions for the prosperity of the Welsh language.

“We look forward to discussing this with the Government, which, in all good faith, is slow in driving things forward.”

https://nation.cymru/culture/wales-needs-a-new-body-to-promote-welsh-says-ex-deputy-first-minister/

DISCUSSION PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET THE AGENDA FOR THE WELSH LANGUAGE.

Reply

Dyfodol i’r Iaith welcomes the discussions currently taking place between Labour and Plaid Cymru and hopes that this will provide an opportunity to reset the agenda in terms of policies to support the Welsh language.

Heini Gruffudd, the organisation’s Chair said:

“We will be encouraging both parties to regard these discussions as an opportunity to consider the true needs of the Welsh language in order to meet the target of creating a million Welsh speakers.”

Among their priorities, the organisation calls upon both parties to:

  • Elevate the status of the Welsh Language Division within Government
  • Extend Welsh language medium education and introduce an ambitious Welsh language training programme for education workers
  • Draw up a Planning policy which protects the language and addresses the housing crisis
  • Act urgently to implement the recommendations of Dr Simon Brooks’s report on
  • Develop the Arfor scheme which aims to promote Welsh and develop the economy of the language’s heartlands
  • Extend the use of the Welsh language within the workplace
  • Strengthen the language’s status within the private sector

And finally, and with no cost implications at all –

  • Increase the use of the Welsh language within the Senedd, including leaders and ministers.