Online Communities and Lists, Part I

» Lisajayne - Support for Welsh language learners.

Annwyl Sarah,

I was very interested to read your aticle on online communities and lists in support of the Welsh language. I am currently researching the factors which affect young school leavers who fail to continue their use of the Welsh language, despite undergoing a Welsh Medium education. You may be surprised to learn that this is unfortunately a widespread problem, especially within the anglicised areas of Wales. I am discovering that the situation is hardly surprising however, when you consider that there is very little Welsh language learning support for young people upon leaving the school environment.
If for example, a pupil has little or no opportunity to hear or speak Welsh in the home, when socialising, in the workplace, in university, on the internet, or within the medium of film and television, their retention of the language is obviously going to be negatively affected. The lack of opportunity to use Welsh in society at large renders useless much of the school's efforts. Education must act as a cornerstone, but language must also be used efficiently in many other domains to ensure language vitality amongst a new generation of speakers.
I agree totally with your statement that a key to effective language learning lies within dialogue with other learners and speakers. I also believe, that in order to reach young people, we need to address them in a way which truly appeals to them. The increasing dominance of Anglo-American culture, and Englsh-based electronic media is one area which needs to be targeted - online Welsh communities and learning websites are an excellent way to ensure the continuance of language use in young people in a way which appeals to them.

Lisa.

-- posted by Lisajayne

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» celfydd - Re: Support for Welsh language learners.

In response to message posted by Lisajayne:

Lisa,
Thank you so much for your input. I completely agree with you, and I'm glad that there are people out there focusing on the problem of Welsh language retention and use. Targeting youth with relevant media that is of interest to them is a key step in ensuring that Welsh continues to be used by current and future generations. From an outsider's perspective, it does seem to me that the amount of available opportunites to use Welsh in society and the workplace is increasing, which I think is wonderful. (It's the diametrical opposite of what has been happening to indigenous languages in the U.S.--a sad situation indeed. At times Anglo-American culture seems like a huge steamroller!) It's great to hear about your research; thank you again for your contribution. If you are ever interested in the future in contributing a short written piece about your research, please let me know (I can post guest articles on occasion). I think it would be of interest to other readers.
Diolch yn fawr,
Sarah

-- posted by celfydd

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