Languages in the Catalan Educational System

Subdirecció General de Llengua i Plurilingüisme

Ministry of Education of Catalonia

Languages in the Catalan Educational System

Curricular Languages

Catalan (Occitan) Spanish

English French German Italian (Latin/Old Greek)

Schooling Language Catalan (Occitan)

Extra Curricular languages(family language, complementary

lifelong learning)Arabic

Chinese Amazig Rumanian Ukrainian Portuguese Galician (Quitxua)

Diversity, an opportunity for education

The Catalan plurilingual policy: a contribution for building a plural Europe

  Inclusive approaches in education: promoting innovative teaching methodologies

  Learning and teaching in plurilingualism: augmenting cognition strategies, communication skills, information sources, critical thinking, mutual aceptance and intercultural values.

“Future is for polyglots” David Crystal

Speak Catalan

Speak Catalan andSpanish

Speak Spanish

Speak neither Catalan nor Spanish, But speak other languages

Know both official

languages (Catalan &

Spanish) and communicate,

at least, in one foreign

language

Starting school:

On finishing compulsory schooling:

The School provides every student

the linguistic skills needed to become

competent and engaged citizens

applying second

language methodologies

Fully endorsed implementation of second language education methodologies:

In Catalonia, since 1983, an action plan for bilingual education has been implemented to increase learning achievement of both official languages, Catalan and Spanish, as well as, at least, the learning of one foreign language.

Applied elsewhere

Quebec(Canadà)

In some areas of the UnitedStates

Finland

Wales

Italy

.......

Catalan is taught following a holistic approach.

Life at school is conducted in Catalan, is only learnt when used.

Students are taught Catalan, Spanish and, at least, one foreign language.

Value is given to all languages and cultures of the families, because roots are important and play a major role in enriching society and enhancing social cohesion.

Language education in schools...

Language and social cohesion plan

Environmental educational plan

Inclusive school

Insertion class

9

Context and justification

Government Plan 2011-2014

reduction school drop outs by systematically promoting reading throughout the schooling years

National Reading Plan

coordinates the efforts of different sectors and areas of Catalan society to improve reading habits: libraries, editors, etc.

Reading competence

10

An essential ability to be developed in the academic and social learning fields and to encourage lifelong learning.

It is part of the linguistic competence and, therefore, linked to other components of the communicative competence: mastery of oral and written skills.

Giving priority to the reading ability as a strategy to improve the linguistic and communicative competence for the acquisition and understanding of other subjects of the school system.

Reading is the foundation of all learning

Percentage of students in the different levels of the reading scale

Levels <1 1 2 3 4 5 6

Catalunya 1 13 24 35 23 4 0

SpainSpain 1 19 27 33 18 3 0

OECD 1 18 24 29 21 7 1

Few students located at higher levels, although the results are better than the Spanish average.

Low levelIntermediate

levelUpper level

PISA 2009 Catalunya 13,5% 82,7% 3,6%

PISA 2009 Espanya 19,6% 77,1% 3,3%

PISA 2009 OECD 18,8% 73,6% 7,6%

PISA 2009 Findand 8,1% 77,4% 14,5%

Target PISA Catalunya 2012

≤ 15% ≈ 81% ≈ 4%

Target PISA Catalunya 2015

≤ 15% ≈ 79% ≈ 6%

Target PISA Catalunya 2018

≤ 15% ≈ 77% ≈ 8%

Target European Union 2020

≤ 15% - -

Terminal levels  of the reading competence (end of secondary education)

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To promote reading in all the curriculum areas and subjects as a learning tool and as systematic and cross curricular strategy to improve school performance and to promote the habit of reading and the reading for pleasure.

Strategic Aim of the Education Departament

PISA 2009: aspects that guide the evaluation of the RC

. information retrieval

. forming a general understanding

. development of an interpretation

. reflection and evaluation of the contents of a text

. reflection and evaluation of the shape of a text

The three areas of the reading competence

Learn to read

The learning of reading as the developing of the ability of reading, understanding and interpreting texts.

Read to learn

The use of reading for learning by developing the ability to read as a tool to access information, to discover and expand knowledge.

Enjoy reading

The reading habit fosters personal growth and lifelong learning

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What will make them competent readers?

can read spelling-sound relationships

(kindergarten/first cycle primary school)

word recognition

dealing with sentences

(primary / secondary)

Ideas and relationship among ideas

ways of reading (purposes)

structure of texts

comprehension strategies

Can read for pleasure

Can read to learn (middle and high cycle

primary/secondary)

information literacy

reading for studying

Intervention lines

Promote an evaluative culture in the schools, defining follow up and evaluation indicators related to the results of the different curricular contents.

Improve the professional skills of teachers and directors, through advising and training.

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1. We learn to read by learning the strategies that need to be applied.

2. The student must be an active participant in the process.

The reading strategies should be made explicit to the students so that they

become autonomous readers

and learn to apply them spontaneously.

Main ideas

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1. Diagnosis: reflection on the results and the line of work used

2. Define objectives, content and assessment criteria in relation to the reading line of work and make suggestions for improvement that are coherent with the results.

3. Working on the theoretical framework of the 3 axes (learn to read, read to learn and reading for pleasure) and design the required training in the didactics of reading.

4. Revise the didactic material and the teaching strategies for the reading competence and model classroom activities.

Work phases at schools

Planning: a school reading plan?

From the result of the diagnosis:• Set goals of improvement by cycles or levels• Initial learning of reading• Agreements in methodology and evaluation• Expand objectives, content and assessment criteria of the three

axes• Families participation• Participation of the environing society (public libraries and

associations)• Training• Evaluation, revision and proposals of improvement

to have autonomous students that can …

. achieve a general understanding of texts

. access and retrieve information

. integrate and interpret information

. reflect on and evaluate information (content and form)