For many reasons I'm too lazy to go over again in terms of the lack of suitable and appropriate resources for teaching Welsh based on second language acquisition research, especially in the English-medium sector, I'd like to propose a number of ideas for further discussion and hopefully move the debate forward and offer some solutions to the whole issue.
● For learners, the content in terms of patterns, connectives, adjectives etc must be selected for all learners along the continuum up to intermediate level. Standard forms should also be selected to establish the full standard forms before moving on to local and dialectal forms further along the continuum. This would ensure that there is explicit content for all and a foundation where effective resources can be easily shared and a solid foundation on which to make progress across sectors and age groups.
● There should be much more effective co-operation and sharing of approaches to teaching reading and listening, including phonics and comprehension between the English and Welsh-medium sector very early on along the continuum. It doesn't make sense that there are different approaches between the two sectors when teaching how to read; which of course lays the foundation for progress and ultimately proficiency or functional competency. This foundational work in the learners' experience is of paramount importance to success and self - efficacy .
● It is extremely important that we develop more expertise not only in terms of language standards but also in cognition of the pedagogy of second language acquisition; drawing on the best of TPRS , CLIL , EPI , AIM and the various other methods such as communicative and grammatical translation to name others . They all have strengths and weaknesses and favouring one method over the other is not sufficient considering the lack of contact time and the differences between English and Welsh in terms of grammatical forms and unfamiliar structures. We need to develop resources that support the research and pedagogy if we are to succeed in the initiative of creating active speakers in the future. There are many countries around the world that have succeeded and all of their experiences must be drawn upon to feed into this developing expertise.
●A clear continuum needs to be developed that everyone can understand. There needs to be a much more definite framework with clear steps for progression. The ACFL and CEFR are already available and are based on the communicative functions that are suitable for the real world. The emphasis should be on comprehensible input and flooding the input and promoting acquisition through listening and reading skills with careful planning for output when the learners are ready.
● Everyone needs to understand the steps along the continuum from the foundation phase to further and higher education. It is necessary to transfer data in terms of proficiency and not performance and understand that learners make progress at different times and we must avoid re-starting their learning at the beginning of each school phase. Each step should build on the previous step smoothly and effectively.
● There must be more opportunities for learners to hear and use the language naturally around school and outside of the school. Very difficult to learn anything in a vacuum. This is where technology and bespoke materials can support where learners live in an area where the language is weak or opportunities limited.
There is much more to add to this but here are the 6 most important points to consider if we are to succeed. Creating some new approaches that are special to us in Wales is stupid and a waste of time and ultimately a scholarly or political issue that inhibits organic growth within the workforce and the grassroots. Many countries are bilingual and multilingual so why are we trying to create something new without a solid basis or convincing research evidence?
#15MFCymru
