Part 1

Gaelic Medium Education and Gaelic for Fluent Speakers

Section 1

RATIONALE

Language and community

Gaelic is one of a large number of minority European languages co-existing with others more dominant both nationally and internationally. An integral and developing part of Scottish life and heritage, Gaelic is a community language in parts of the Highlands and Islands but half of the Gaelic-speaking population is found elsewhere in Scotland. Gaelic is current in communities where:

it is used readily by every age group in all forms of daily interaction;

it has been an everyday language in the recent past but is now spoken predominantly by older members of the community;

it is spoken in families or by individuals, in largely urban areas, perhaps related through a scattered network to other individuals or families.

Nationally, Gaelic language and culture have recently enjoyed a period of growth in the arts, the media and education, exemplified by increased interest in, and access to, literature, music, and the performing arts, and by expanded provision for broadcasting and pre-school play groups. Parents are also exercising choice and commitment in support of current initiatives. Such developments have been matched by a realisation that linguistic and cultural development is inextricably linked to economic factors.

Business and industry have, therefore, come to value Gaelic for its economic potential. In commerce generally, the ability of employees to use Gaelic is increasingly seen as an asset in administration and communication. For such reasons educators will require to equip Gaelic-speaking pupils with the skills necessary to take advantage of the growing number of employment opportunities available locally and nationally.

Against such a socio-economic background, sustaining the growth of Gaelic as a living language has implications for the provision of Gaelic from the earliest years.

Language and education

Language is at the heart of children's learning. Through language they receive knowledge and acquire skills. Language enables children both to communicate with others effectively for a variety of purposes and to examine their own and others' experiences, feelings and ideas, giving them order and meaning. Because language is central to children's intellectual, emotional and social development, it has an essential role across the curriculum and helps pupils' learning to be coherent and progressive.

Children's earliest language is acquired in the home and in pre-school groups. This language will be varied but it will mirror the diversity of the community the school serves and will contribute to learning in the classroom. Gaelic-speaking parents are a resource to be used by the school. The school, in using Gaelic as the main medium of education, will build on the linguistic skills the child has already acquired in either Gaelic or in English. These skills should be handled with sensitivity by teachers so as to meet individual needs, encourage confidence and make learning a pleasurable experience.