Full Description
Wales is a small nation with a long and varied tradition of bilingualism. The minority language and culture is under threat. The book seeks to take the temperature of the Welsh language. Building on a computer analysis of the 1981 Welsh language Census data, the book provides evidence of a language moving slowly towards extinction. The aim of each chapter is to examine an issue which is of significance in most minority language situations, but is exemplified and encapsulated in the Welsh context. The effect of television and other mass media, the potential and threat of the microelectronic revolution, the existence and erosion of heartlands are issues which are part of the nervous tension of contemporary Wales and many other minority language regions. The role of bilingual education is a central issue of the book. A bilingual education model is described as a basis for analysing some of the problems and issues of Welsh and worldwide bilingual education. Another chapter analyses different approaches to curriculum development in minority language contexts and argues for a dual approach combining central initiatives and teacher based action research. Regional variations in the policy and provision of bilingual schooling in Wales are portrayed, and two further chapters present recent research into Welsh education. This research points to the crucial nature of immersion and active participation in the minority culture as a lifeline for the future of the Welsh language.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Where are the Welsh Speakers? The Distribution of the Welsh Language
2. Policy and Provision in Bilingual Education in Wales
3. "Who Speaks Welsh?" Defining and Measuring Bilingualism
4. Does Bilingual Education Work? A Bilingual Education Model
5. Missionaries and Cells: Curriculum Development in Wales
6. Who Opts for Welsh?
7. Ur Unig Ateb - The Only Answer? Mass Media, Bilingualism and Education
8. The Microcomputer, the Welsh Language and Education
9. A Future for the Welsh Language?
Appendices
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index
