Regional

or minority languages are languages that are:
Traditionally used within a given territory of a State by
nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller
than the rest of the State's population;

Different from the official language(s) of that State.
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During the dictatorship (1936 - 1975),
regional languages were completely banned.
The new constitution (1978) and reinstalment of democracy allowed regional
languages again.
“Endangered” status of languages leads the
regional governments to adopt language
policies that ensure their conservation.
Introduction to Education systems in
Catalunya, the Basque Country and Galicia
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The teaching of Catalan, Basque and Galician
is compulsory in the respective autonomous
communities
(with
the
exception
of
international or language schools).
Language education policies vary depending
on a) Region
b) Institution
General Language Education Policies
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All subjects taught in Spanish, with a regional
language as a compulsory, core subject.
Bilingual programmes
All subjects taught in regional language, with
the exception of Spanish and foreign
languages (English being the most common).
Sistema educativo en Cataluña
Lenguas oficiales
-Estatut de Catalunya (2006):
“El català és la llengua oficial de Catalunya. També ho és
el castellà, que és la llengua oficial de l'Estat espanyol”
-El aranés es una variante del
occitano hablado en el Valle de Arán
Sistema educativo en Cataluña
Lengua y educación
-La Generalitat ha de garantizar la enseñanza del catalán
y el castellano a toda la población.
-El catalán es la lengua vehicular y de aprendizaje en
todos los niveles y modalidades educativas
-El castellano se imparte en las clases de Lengua y
Literatura castellana y en clases individualizadas en el
primer curso de enseñanza
Sistema educativo en Cataluña
Lengua y educación
-Los alumnos con desconocimiento de una de las dos
lenguas oficiales tienen derecho a recibir una ayuda
lingüística específica, como también el alumnado
incorporado tarde al sistema escolar
-Los maestros y los profesores han de tener la titulación
requerida y han de acreditar el dominio de las dos
lenguas oficiales. Normalmente han de emplear el catalán
Sistema educativo en Cataluña
Organización
-Educación infantil
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Carácter voluntario
Primer ciclo: 0-3 años
Segundo ciclo: 3-6 años
Lengua vehicular y de aprendizaje: catalán
Sistema educativo en Cataluña
Organización
-Educación obligatoria
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Educación primaria: 6-12 años
Educación secundaria: 12-16(18) años
Se exige al alumnado unos conocimientos
determinados del catalán y el castellano, así como de
una tercera lengua extranjera
Lengua vehicular y de aprendizaje: catalán
Sistema educativo en Cataluña
Organización
-Estudios universitarios
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“El professorat i l'alumnat dels centres universitaris
tenen dret a expressar-se, oralment i per escrit, en la
llengua oficial que elegeixin” (Estatut de Catalunya)
El catalán es la lengua propia de las universidades de
Cataluña y, por tanto, es la lengua de uso normal de
sus actividades.
Sistema educativo en Cataluña
Otras enseñanzas
-Enseñanzas de idiomas

Lengua vehicular y de aprendizaje: lengua objeto de
estudio. Lengua de referencia: catalán
-Otros estudios

Perfeccionamiento de ambas lenguas oficiales. Lengua
vehicular y de aprendizaje: catalán
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Deixonne Law of 1951
Establishment of La Bressola in 1976 –
opening of first Catalan primary school
Establishment of CEDACC (Centre de
Documentació i Animació de la Cultura
Catalana) in 1978
The Ministerial Memorandum of 1982
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Bilingual education was established as an official option in
Perpignan in 1994. - Arrels association offer complete
bilingual French/Catalan classes from nursery to secondary
school
Opening of first Catalan secondary school in El Soler
 importance of location
 first class of 17 students. Strategy = small group first as
it makes it easier to adopt Catalan as the main language in class
 demand is on the rise
 highly trained teaching staff
 Catalan language and culture taught 3 hours per week
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University of Perpignan has offered a Catalan
language degree since 1982, a Masters since
1984 and a postgrad diploma since 1984.
940 university students of Catalan in France –
Catalan department had 230 students and six
full time lecturers in 1993.
Media, commerce, public administration and
teaching
A number of French universities outside the
area offer Catalan courses
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Adult education after University
Teacher training - Universitat Catalana d'Estiu
– organises supplementary teaching courses
SEDEC of the Generalitat de Catalunya – offers
its experience in the area of language
standardisation in teaching.
 Schooling in minority languages in France
shows as a continuous increase
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Lack of teachers, infrastructure and financial means
Number of students studying Catalan is still small
40% of families in French part of Catalonia want their
children to learn Catalan. 2% of these families have an
effective access to it.
Around 470 students in 7 Catalan immersion schools
 60 could not be taken due to lack of space
Restrictions of hours during first 2 years of training
and nursery and primary levels (35 hours).
Annual refresher courses for secondary teachers are
attended by half of the 50 teachers who give Catalan
classes, while only 7% of primary teachers attend
these courses.
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83% of the population are in favour of giving
all children an opportunity to learn Catalan at
school and that 57% would like their children
to learn Catalan.
Although teaching and popularity of Catalan
in France is at an increase, the lack of
sufficient funding and recognition means that
its survival in France cannot be guaranteed.
In 1978 fewer than 20% of the population said they
could speak Basque. (Minahan: 2000: 102)
During the 1960s, movement established to teach
Basque.
Teaching adults Basque in evening classes –
gaueskolas
using Basque as the language of instruction in
schools - ikastolas.
This movement influenced current Basque
education system.
The right of all students to be taught either in
Basque or Spanish at the different educational
levels is recognised. To this effect the
parliament and the government will adopt
these measures necessary, which will tend to
the progressive generalisation of bilingualism
in the educational system of the Autonomous
Community of the Basque Country.
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Model A - Spanish as main language of
instruction, Basque taught as a second
language.
Model B - Basque and Spanish used as
language of instruction.
Model D - Basque is language of instruction,
with Spanish taught separately.
Teaching in Spanish and Basque in all 3 models. This is
reflected in Article 17 in the Statute of Autonomy:
The government will adopt those measures that will
lead to a guarantee of a real possibility, in equality of
conditions, of possessing sufficient practical
knowledge of Basque at the end of their compulsory
schooling and that will ensure the official use of
Basque, making the same a vehicle of normal
expression, both in internal and external activities,
and in administrative acts and documents.
Parents opt which model they want their child to be
enrolled in.
The proportion of people who are proficient in
Basque has increased in recent years in the three
BAC provinces due to the educational system.
(Cenoz: 2008: 2)
This is reflected in statistics (1999/2000) in BAC,
for the enrolment figures of 3 year olds and their
pathways: Model A (11%), Model B (32%) and
Model D (57%)
Teaching classes in Basque has increased from
23.1% in 1982 to 41% in 2002-2003. (Cenoz:
2008: 6)
This growth is higher in Gipuzkoa.
Araba has experienced the smallest change.
Model A results in obtaining lower competency in
Basque.
Model B attain higher level of Basque than Model A
students, but lower than that of Model D Spanish
speaking-students.
However depends on how intensive each model is –
the closer it is to Model D the higher the results
(Etzeberria, 1986, 1999.)
Model D students achieve the highest results in
Basque, hence bilingual or high level in both
languages.
Some students who began education in Model B
switch to Model A in secondary education
because they consider their command of Basque
insufficient in succeeding academically at higher
level.
In 1998, the General Plan for Promoting Basque
Language Use was established and government
subsidised extra-curricular activities through
Linguistic Normalization Projects to extend use
of Basque beyond the classroom and in the wider
community.
Policies more centred on multilingualism, as
opposed to bilingualism – also teaching
French and English. Bilingual students
perform better at learning 3rd language, than
monolingual.
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According to a recent sociolinguistic survey by the Basque
Government, (Aizpurua Tellería & Aizpurua Espín, 2005;
Basque Government 2003) 29.4% of the population in the
Basque Country is bilingual, (Basque-Spanish) 11.4% is
passive bilingual and 59.2% are Spanish monolingual.
Among those who speak it, some rarely do or their level is
poor.
With multilingual programs, there is focus on learning
English as new language, as opposed to advancing Basque.
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Immigrants who bring their own languages to the region
presents a linguistic challenge in the long-term.
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Main increase occurred in the 16-24 age group,
from 25% of Basque speakers in 1991 to 48% in
2001. (Cenoz: 2008: 6) Therefore number of
speakers has steadily increased.
 Widespread support for Basque in the region.
 More published work appearing.
 More frequent in higher education.
Still need for effective language-planning methods
to increase presence of Basque in day-to-day
life.
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Amorrortu, Estibaliz. Basque Language, Society,
Sociolinguistic and Culture (USA: the Center for
Basque Studies, 2003.)
Cenoz, Jason. Teaching Through Basque:
Achievements and Challenges (UK: Cromwell Press
LTD., 2008.)
Cenoz, Jason. Towards Multilingual Education: Basque
Educational Research from the an International
Perspective (UK: MPG Group Books, 2009)
McNair, John. Education for a Changing Spain (UK:
Manchester University Press, 1984)
Minahan, James. One Europe, Many Nations: A
Historical Dictionary of European National Groups
(USA: Greenwood Press, 2000)
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The Mercator European Research Centre on
Multilingualism and Language Learning
Regional dossiers series.
Law of orientation and programme for the
future of the school called the Fillon Law
Basque language and culture taught for 1 – 3
hours a week in schools for public education.
Extra teaching hours are offered outside the
curriculum.
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It is not possible to learn a regional language as
a modern language at primary or secondary
school.
Regional languages will be outside of the core
common skills.
It is the Region’s responsibility to promote
regional languages, not that of the National
Education.
At the moment it isn’t possible to evaluate the
effects of the new law on the education system,
due to the fact that it hasn’t yet been properly
promulgated, although it had been passed.
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The French education system is largely state-controlled
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Ikastolas schools - concerned with the full development of
the pupils’ bilingual skills.
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The number of ikastolas is still growing.
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The Seaska association - set up in Iparralde as an initiative
of parents and teachers. It exerts itself to encourage
language development in a Basque surrounding.
Seaska association only received funding from the state,
when an agreement with the Education Nationale was
concluded in 1982.
Ministry of Education takes responsibility for paying
teachers’ salaries and for providing their training
according to this agreement. The agreement has to be
renewed annually.
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Parents have to contribute financially even
though the schools are linked to the public
education system through a contract with the
government.
The academic inspection and several advisory
bodies in the field of education together form the
support structure for Basque education.
On July 9th, 2004 the public office of the Basque
language [OPLB] was established. This is the first
public office in France responsible for promoting
a regional language and culture.
The Ikas-bi brings together parents of children in
public education who receive bilingual education.
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Euskal Haziak, which works along the same lines as the
Ikas-bi.
The Ikas unites the teachers of Basque and aims at
creating good conditions for the teaching of Basque by
organizing monthly meetings in a teacher training college
in Eskoriatze (in the Basque Autonomous Community).
Ikastola pre-primary schools have appeared using the
method of linguistic immersion since 1969.
Currently, 64.5% of the pre-primary sections in Iparralde
are conducted exclusively in French compared to 80% ten
years ago, indicating an increase in the use of Basque.
Instruction material in Basque is prepared mainly by the
teachers, but some associations or private organizations
produce and distribute such materials.
It is in primary schools that the majority of pupils learns
Basque, based on different linguistic models.
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At the ikastolas special attention is given to the
geography and history of the Basque Country.
In public bilingual streams Basque is used for 12
hours per week, which amounts to almost half of
the teaching time: Basque is used for
mathematics (6 hours/week), geography (1),
sciences (2), physical education (1), the Basque
language itself (1), and partly for arts (1).
Basque teaching time is generally at least three
hours in collège and 2.5 hours in lycée.
In the public school sector, there are 17 collèges
offering Basque lessons. 6% of the pupils have
bilingual lessons and 8% optional lessons.
•
Galician language - compulsory for all
•
All children have a right to learn
•
Compulsory and free until 16 in public
schools
•
Private schools partially subsidised
•
Only free if agreed with the Local Ministry
of Education and University Planning.
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Organic Law of Education 2/2006 of May
3rd 2006
Compulsory from 6 - 16 yrs
Bacharelato, vocational training, special
programs (languages, art, sports), adult
education or university education
Public
Private
Partially subsidised
IF:
•
They do not speak Castilian or Galician
•
2 or more years behind the grade
•
Difficulty settling in
•
School lunch program
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School transport service
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School library
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Free textbooks
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Extracurricular activities
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Grants and aids
•
Galicia’s Association for the Coordination
of Language Standardization and
Improvement Teams
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Teachers with a common language goal:
social standardisation of Galician
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Non-profit organisation of non-paid
volunteers
•
Created in 1991 to promote Galician
•
•
•
•
General Plan for the GPSGL
"endangers not only the survival of the
language, but also the acquisition of a
basic competence in Galician by the
younger generations".
Decree 124/2007 - ensured Galician
education for children whose mothertongue was Galician
At least 50% class time in Galician
•
Not in line with the law
•
Breaks the language balance
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Not conceived to promote Galician in
schools
•
English taught in place of Galician
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Galician for the less important
•
Cuts, exemptions and shortages
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Lack of linguistic competence
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Law for Standardisation have not been met
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A reduction in the number of speakers