Community Languages in Wales Supporting mother-tongue literacy

Multilingual Wales 2005 survey – 98 languages + English and Welsh Some areas/schools have few or no pupils with CL

Making Languages Count recognise and develop the knowledge and skills in home and community languages held by many learners. classroom guidance and case studies on good practice to be provided for schools by April languages/

Surveyreport The provision of support for community languages in secondary schools in Wales languages-report/

Main findings Pockets of good practice – innovative local partnerships, schools with strong ethos of support for CL Schools that provide opportunities for CL accreditation report positive impact

However, Many schools remain unaware of the cognitive benefits of supporting first language Provision of support inconsistent and tends to be outside the curriculum Supporting CL usually seen as subordinate to a school’s role of supporting EAL

Also, Issues around accreditation Schools unaware of where to access support and training

Issues and barriers to provision Small/unpredictable pupil numbers Limited teaching resources Wide variations in ability amongst groups Limited access for CPD for teachers/tutors Funding for tutors

Good practice Partnership working Local authority support for teachers/tutors Use of peer support Whole-school approaches to CL: ◦ Cross-curricular work ◦ Database of CL-speaking volunteers

Lessons of the report Awareness-raising of the value of supporting MT literacy Highlight the value of providing accreditation of pupils’ CL skills Guidance on accreditation Development of CPD Signposting to existing resources and sources of help Signposting to existing resources and sources of help

What can we do? Contact your Ethnic Minority Achievement Service for advice and guidance Involve parents Use bilingual classroom assistants where possible Run language clubs Provide dual-language reading resources Build links with local community schools and groups

What can we do? Provide opportunities for pupils to gain accreditation in their first language Involve your MFL and EAL department to support teaching Use older pupil volunteers as language buddies Ask CILT Cymru for support