United Kingdom / Royaume-Uni
Éléments de contexte :
Le Royaume-Uni ne possédant pas de Constitution proprement dite, l’anglais n’a pas de reconnaissance constitutionnelle.
Cependant, même s’il n’est pas officiellement proclamé comme tel, sauf dans de très vieilles lois datant du Moyen Âge, il est de facto la langue officielle dans la mesure notamment où il s’agit de la langue du Gouvernement et de l’administration britanniques. Il est parlé par 94 % de la population et, malgré la faiblesse de son statut juridique, la langue anglaise est évoquée dans des textes législatifs et réglementaires déterminants : loi sur la nationalité britannique de 1981, loi sur la nationalité, l’immigration et le droit d’asile de 2002, loi sur l’éducation de 2002, parmi les lois récentes.
Ainsi, une « connaissance suffisante de la langue anglaise » est mentionnée comme une condition d’accès à la nationalité britannique dans un texte de 2005. Cependant, il est intéressant de constater qu’il s’agit d’un texte réglementaire et qu’au niveau législatif la loi de 2002 sur la nationalité, l’immigration et le droit d’asile ne parle que d’une « connaissance suffisante de la vie au Royaume-Uni » et de la « connaissance suffisante d’une langue » sans plus de précision. Notons également que dans la loi de 1981 sur la nationalité britannique, l’anglais, alors explicitement mentionné, l’était simultanément avec le gallois et le gaélique écossais : la maîtrise suffisante d’une de ces trois langues faisant partie des critères de naturalisation.
Depuis 1997 pour l’Écosse et 1998 pour le Pays de Galles et l’Irlande du Nord, de nouveaux pouvoirs ont été dévolus par le Gouvernement central à ces trois entités qui peuvent dorénavant développer ou mettre en place des politiques linguistiques autonomes. La situation du Pays de Galles est particulière, car depuis 1993, la loi sur la langue galloise a instauré une égalité de principe entre cette langue et l’anglais.
I – ANGLETERRE
Cadre juridique
Seule région à ne pas bénéficier d’une dévolution de pouvoirs et d’un statut particulier, l’Angleterre obéit à la législation adoptée pour le Royaume-Uni par le Parlement britannique. Cette législation est relativement pauvre concernant le statut et l’usage de la langue anglaise.
Institutions parlementaires
Au Parlement britannique, seul l’anglais est utilisé dans les débats ainsi que dans la rédaction et la promulgation des lois.
Justice
Les procédures sont en anglais, mais en cas de poursuites pénales, un service de traduction est mis à la disposition des personnes ne parlant pas ou ne comprenant pas l’anglais.
Administration
L’anglais est la langue d’usage, mais un grand nombre de services ministériels et d’administrations, notamment locales, publient des brochures dans des langues minoritaires. Les politiques d’égalité des chances (equal opportunities policies) y incitent. Ainsi, les ministères de l’Éducation et de l’Emploi publient des brochures d’information à l’intention des parents de langue minoritaire. Le ministère de la Santé a publié plusieurs brochures portant notamment sur la grossesse, les services de maternité et la mort subite du nourrisson. Il est d’usage de permettre aux populations immigrées non-anglophones l’accès aux services nationaux, régionaux ou locaux dans leur langue d’origine.
Certaines autorités locales ont fait le choix de proposer une signalétique entièrement bilingue (anglais/urdu ou anglais/somali, par exemple) au sein de plusieurs quartiers dont la majorité des habitants est non-anglophone.
Monde du travail
La législation ne stipule aucune règle en matière de langues. L’usage fait que l’anglais est la langue requise dans la majorité des emplois. Toute l’activité économique se déroule en anglais sauf dans les commerces ethniques d’origine indo-pakistanaise où l’hindi, l’ourdou, le sindhi, etc., sont utilisés. Le Gouvernement du Royaume-Uni s’est engagé à ne pas limiter, sans raisons justifiables, le recours aux langues minoritaires dans les documents relatifs à la vie économique et notamment dans les contrats de travail.
Publicité
Elle n’est soumise à aucune loi ni à aucun règlement ; les campagnes publicitaires peuvent être réalisées dans d’autres langues que l’anglais sans avoir à comporter de traduction. Il existe de nombreuses affiches bilingues, mais sans qu’il s’agisse de la mise en œuvre d’une réglementation.
Éducation
L’enseignement obligatoire (de 5 ans à 16 ans) est fondé sur un ensemble de programmes (National Curriculum) dont les contenus doivent être transmis en anglais. C’est le cas dans l’ensemble du Royaume-Uni, sauf au Pays de Galles ou la langue d’enseignement peut être indifféremment l’anglais ou le gallois. Le premier souci des autorités en Angleterre est de veiller à ce que tous les élèves aient une bonne connaissance de la langue anglaise. L’enseignement dans une autre langue que l’anglais est cependant autorisé à la condition d’accorder au moins un horaire égal à l’enseignement en anglais. Selon les statistiques officielles, quelques 200 langues maternelles différentes sont représentées dans les écoles britanniques et il est possible d’en trouver jusqu’à 60 dans une même école.
Les enfants dont la langue maternelle n’est pas l’anglais reçoivent un soutien linguistique parallèle leur permettant d’atteindre le niveau de compréhension et d’expression minimal pour suivre les cours. Tout étudiant, britannique ou étranger, candidat à une formation d’enseignant doit prouver un niveau de compétence en anglais au moins équivalent au module de langue anglaise de l’examen de fin d’études secondaires (General certificate of secondary education GCSE).
Dispositions juridiques concernant l’intégration linguistique des migrants et dispositifs publics de formation linguistique proposés à ceux-ci
Les étrangers qui décident de suivre des cours d’anglais auprès d’un prestataire agréé par l’administration ont droit à une prise en charge de leurs frais de formation linguistique par la collectivité, à condition de disposer d’un titre de séjour depuis au moins trois ans.
L’obtention de la nationalité britannique est subordonnée à la maîtrise de la langue et le débat se centre sur cette question, mais l’intégration linguistique des étrangers ne constitue pas une priorité. Un groupe de travail a été établi en septembre 2002 pour proposer une réforme de l’examen lié à la naturalisation. Dans son rapport intitulé « Vivre au Royaume-Uni », qu’il a rendu un an plus tard, il propose de favoriser l’intégration des étrangers en créant un droit à la formation linguistique pour tous les étrangers, indépendamment de leur durée de séjour et de leur volonté de naturalisation.
Par ailleurs, dans son rapport sur la maîtrise de l’immigration de février 2005, le ministre de l’Intérieur propose de subordonner l’attribution d’un permis de séjour à la réussite d’un test d’anglais.
Principales dispositions juridiques en vigueur concernant l’utilisation des langues régionales ou minoritaires
Le Royaume-Uni est un pays signataire de la Charte européenne des langues régionales ou minoritaires de 2001 par laquelle il reconnaît l’importance du respect, de la compréhension et de la tolérance en matière de diversité linguistique, que ce soit pour le gallois, le gaélique écossais, le gaélique irlandais, ou toute autre langue des diverses « minorités ethniques ».
Pour une meilleure intégration des minorités ethniques, le Royaume-Uni s’efforce d’établir une traduction pour les documents relatifs à la vie économique et sociale.
Enseignement des langues étrangères au sein du système éducatif
Depuis la rentrée 2003, l’enseignement d’une langue vivante étrangère n’est plus obligatoire après 14 ans. Ainsi, depuis cette date, le nombre d’élèves choisissant une langue vivante au GCSE a diminué de près de 30 %. Cette chute des effectifs a conduit le Gouvernement à réexaminer, entre octobre 2006 et février 2007, sa stratégie pour les langues vivantes. Le rapport commandé à Lord Dearing a été remis au ministre de l’Éducation fin février 2007 : il préconise de rendre obligatoire l’enseignement d’une langue étrangère dès l’école primaire et d’inscrire cette obligation dans le National Curriculum. L’objectif, validé et repris par le Gouvernement, est que d’ici à 2010 tous les élèves apprennent une langue vivante dès 7 ans. En revanche, le retour à l’obligation après 14 ans n’est envisagé que si les mesures centrées sur la rénovation de la pédagogie et la motivation des élèves échouent. Il préconise également de diversifier l’offre linguistique et de ne plus favoriser, comme actuellement, les langues européennes.
Dernières évolutions :
La stratégie nationale en faveur des langues (Languages for all ; a national strategy for languages), publiée en 2002 par le ministère de l’Éducation, continue à orienter l’ensemble de la politique linguistique au Royaume-Uni ; ses axes principaux ne sont pas remis en question par le rapport Dearing qui ne fait que les approfondir, les compléter ou les aménager :
- recentrage de la politique linguistique sur les plus jeunes : l’apprentissage d’une langue vivante étrangère sera obligatoire à partir de 7 ans d’ici à 2010 (inscription dans le National Curriculum) ;
- les langues proposées à l’apprentissage ne seront pas limitées aux langues européennes, mais tiendront compte des spécificités communautaires ; le plurilinguisme des populations immigrées sera favorisé. L’offre sera donc diversifiée ;
- l’accent est mis sur la motivation des élèves et non sur l’obligation. Après 14 ans, l’apprentissage demeure optionnel même s’il est encouragé ;
- la nécessité d’une rénovation des pratiques pédagogiques et des programmes est affirmée.
Un directeur national pour les langues est chargé de veiller à la mise en œuvre de ces orientations.
II – PAYS DE GALLES
Le Pays de Galles a posé comme principe depuis 1993 l’égalité entre le gallois et l’anglais. 580 000 personnes, soit 21 % de la population, parlent le gallois au Pays de Galles. Une structure spécifique chargée de promouvoir la pratique de la langue galloise rend compte de son action directement devant l’Assemblée nationale galloise.
Cadre juridique
Le « Welsh language act », voté en décembre 1993 par l’Assemblée nationale galloise, a mis en place les grandes lignes d’une stratégie nationale de promotion et de soutien de l’apprentissage du gallois, et posé en principe l’égalité de statut entre cette langue et l’anglais au Pays de Galles.
Administration et services publics
L’objectif poursuivi par le Gouvernement gallois est de faire du Pays de Galles une nation réellement bilingue.
En juillet 2006, le Gouvernement gallois a publié une « Déclaration sur les services bilingues » qui concerne les services offerts par l’Assemblée parlementaire. L’administration répond dans la langue (anglais ou gallois) dans laquelle un courrier lui est adressé. Au téléphone, le personnel doit répondre dans la langue utilisée par l’usager. Toute documentation est adressée dans les deux langues. Dans l’embauche, pour les services publics, priorité est donnée aux candidats qui peuvent s’exprimer dans les deux langues.
Tout service public au Pays de Galles doit élaborer et mettre en œuvre des programmes de langue galloise. C’est la loi de 1993 sur la langue galloise qui définit les organismes qui doivent être considérés comme publics. Cette liste est régulièrement mise à jour par amendement de la loi.
Une structure spécifique a été créée, chargée de promouvoir et de faciliter la pratique du gallois : le « Welsh language board », organisation officielle entièrement financée par des fonds publics et dont le comité directeur est nommé par le ministre d’État pour le Pays de Galles, rend compte de son action devant l’Assemblée nationale galloise.
Le Welsh language board disposait en 2007 d’un budget de 13,4 millions de livres sterling.
Médias
La langue galloise parvient à entretenir sa présence dans le monde éducatif, culturel et médiatique grâce à un réseau de ressources audiovisuelles important. Depuis 1982, la chaîne « S4C » émet ses programmes en langue galloise à raison de 30 heures hebdomadaires et 12 heures quotidiennes sur le réseau numérique. La chaîne nationale « BBC Radio Cymru » propose 120 heures de programmes en gallois par semaine.
Concernant la presse écrite, il existe quatre hebdomadaires et quatre magazines publiés en gallois, mais pas de quotidien. Le Western mail publie parfois (à hauteur de 1 % de son contenu) des articles en gallois.
Enseignement
Le gallois fait partie intégrante du programme national d’enseignement établi par l’« Education act » de 1988.
Dès la maternelle, il est possible de recevoir un enseignement du gallois si les parents le demandent. Cet enseignement ne peut légalement être refusé, du moins à mi-temps.
Depuis 1990, son apprentissage est obligatoire de 7 à 14 ans et, depuis 1999, entre 14 et 16 ans. Les établissements scolaires fournissant un enseignement de plus de 6 disciplines en gallois sont considérés comme « gallophones », les autres comme assurant un enseignement du gallois « langue seconde ». Environ 25 % des enfants poursuivent leur scolarité dans un établissement « gallophone », même si la majorité d’entre eux ne parle pas la langue dans leur milieu familial.
Le gallois est autorisé dans l’enseignement supérieur : les cours en gallois sont cependant très minoritaires ; ils comptent pour 1,5 % de l’ensemble des cours.
III – ÉCOSSE
L’anglais est la langue maternelle de 98 % des Écossais. Une très faible proportion d’entre eux parle encore le gaélique écossais (environ 1,3 %).
Cadre juridique
Le Parlement écossais a adopté le 21 avril 2005 une « loi sur la langue gaélique » (gaelic language act). Elle mentionne que le gaélique doit être l’une des langues officielles sur un pied d’égalité avec l’anglais.
Il établit une institution le « Bord na Gaedhlig » (désigné comme le Bord) qui a pour mission de promouvoir l’usage de la langue et de la culture gaéliques. Il doit notamment assurer l’augmentation du nombre de locuteurs capables de comprendre la langue gaélique, soutenir l’utilisation et la compréhension du gaélique, faciliter l’accès en Écosse et ailleurs à la langue et à la culture gaéliques.
Cette agence publique a également pour rôle de contrôler l’application de la Charte européenne des langues régionales et minoritaires.
Parlement
Jusqu’en 2005, seul l’anglais était reconnu au Parlement écossais. La nouvelle législation ne prévoit pas de disposition particulière à ce sujet, mais le Bord a le pouvoir d’exiger du Parlement qu’il élabore un programme de langue gaélique. Les parlementaires ont théoriquement le droit de s’exprimer en gaélique, mais peu le font dans la mesure où peu le connaissent. De nombreux documents officiels, dont des lois, ont cependant été publiés dans des versions bilingues. Le Parlement accepte les requêtes, les preuves, les pétitions et les correspondances en gaélique.
Administration
Un nombre important d’administrations et d’organismes publics s’est engagé à produire un programme de langue gaélique d’ici à 2009 : Scottish executive, Scottish parliament, Scottish Arts councils, des agences publiques nationales et des conseils régionaux ou municipaux (la ville de Glasgow notamment).
Enseignement
Dans toute l’Écosse, l’enseignement est assuré en anglais, mais les orientations nationales concernant les élèves âgés de 5 à 14 ans recommandent l’introduction de la littérature écossaise dans les programmes ainsi que l’enseignement d’une maîtrise correcte de la langue gaélique.
Enseignement en gaélique
Depuis la loi sur l’éducation de 1980 (Education scotland act 1980), les autorités éducatives ont l’obligation d’assurer un enseignement scolaire et une formation continue appropriée en gaélique dans les régions où on le parle. Depuis la loi sur les normes scolaires d’Écosse de 2000 (Standarts in Scotland’s schools act 2000), les autorités éducatives doivent rendre compte de leurs programmes en matière d’enseignement du gaélique. Elles doivent également préciser les conditions dans lesquelles elles proposent un enseignement en gaélique ; elles ont le droit de demander au Scottish executive des subventions spécifiques pour l’enseignement en gaélique.
Les effectifs d’élèves apprenant le gaélique sont encore limités, mais en constante augmentation : 2 000 élèves au primaire, 3 000 au secondaire, 1 200 dans l’enseignement post-secondaire.
La loi sur la langue gaélique de 2005 habilite le Bord à exiger des différentes autorités éducatives qu’elles élaborent des programmes pour la langue gaélique.
Enseignement des langues étrangères
Bien que l’enseignement des langues ne soit plus obligatoire, celles-ci sont de fait enseignées à partir de 6 ans dans la plupart des écoles et une large majorité des élèves choisissent une langue étrangère au niveau du Standart Grade (équivalent du GCSE).
Cependant la baisse récente des effectifs d’élèves qui choisissent une langue étrangère au Higher Grade (fin d’études secondaires) provoque un débat sur la pertinence du système et sur l’absence d’obligation.
Médias
À l’exception d’une revue et de journaux locaux, la presse et les médias en général sont en langue anglaise. De nombreux quotidiens offrent cependant une page ou une colonne en gaélique.
La loi de 1996 sur la radiodiffusion prévoit de favoriser l’introduction d’émissions en gaélique. Actuellement la BBC-radio nan Gaedheal et quatre chaînes de télévision, dont la BBC, diffusent actuellement des programmes dans cette langue.
IV – IRLANDE DU NORD
Bien que ne possédant pas juridiquement le statut de langue officielle, l’anglais jouit de facto de ce statut.
Cependant, l’accord de Belfast de 1998, précise que les parties signataires ont reconnu « l’importance du respect vis-à-vis de la diversité culturelle… notamment pour l’irlandais, l’écossais d’Ulster et les langues des diverses communautés ethniques ».
Depuis 1999 et l’ordonnance pour l’Irlande du Nord sur la coopération nord/sud, deux organismes ont été créés pour promouvoir la langue irlandaise et l’écossais d’Ulster.
Il reste que ces dispositions ne créent pas de statut particulier pour ces langues minoritaires comme c’est le cas pour le gallois au Pays de Galles ou même, dans une moindre mesure, pour le gaélique écossais en Écosse.
L’anglais est la seule langue utilisée, à de très rares exceptions, dans l’administration, la justice, la vie économique, l’éducation.
On peut noter que la BBC diffuse en irlandais environ 150 heures de radio et seulement 3 ou 4 heures de télévision par an.
Overview
Since the United Kingdom does not have a formal constitution, it follows that English cannot be recognised by it. Nonetheless, even if it is not officially proclaimed as such (except in certain very old laws dating back to the Middle Ages), it is the de facto official language by virtue of its being the language of the British government and administration. It is spoken by over 92% of the population[1] and, despite having little formal legal recognition, it is mentioned in important legal and regulatory texts: the 1981 law on British nationality, the law on nationality, the 2014 Immigration Act, or the Code of Practice (English Language Requirements for Public Sector Workers) Regulations 2016, to name but a few of the more recent occurrences.
In the same way, a “sufficient understanding of the English language” is stipulated as a condition for obtaining British nationality in a 2005 text. It is, however, interesting to note that this is a regulatory text and that the relevant legislative text, the 2002 law on nationality, immigration and asylum rights, speaks only of “a sufficient understanding of the British way of life” and a “sufficient understanding of a language” without specifying further. It is also interesting to note that in the 1981 law on British nationality, although English is explicitly mentioned, it is given equal status with Welsh and Scottish Gaelic: it is only necessary to be able to master one of these three languages to meet the criteria for naturalisation.
Since 1997 for Scotland and 1998 for Wales and Northern Ireland, new powers have been devolved by central Government to these three countries, permitting them to develop and implement autonomous linguistic policies. Wales is an interesting case in point. Since 1993, followed up by the Government of Wales Act 1998 and further enshrined in the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, the law on the Welsh language ensures that, in principle at least, Welsh and English have equal status.
In the national UK parliament, although the swearing in of Members can take place in English, Welsh or Gaelic, only English is permitted for parliamentary proceedings; although in 2016 the House of Commons Procedure Committee recommended that Welsh should be permitted for use in the Welsh Grand Committee at Westminster.
I – ENGLAND
Legal framework
The only UK nation to not have benefited from a devolution of powers and specific statutes, England is governed by legislation adopted for the United Kingdom by the UK Parliament. There is very little legislation concerning the status and usage of the English language.
Official data collection mechanisms on language diversity in England exist in terms of periodically updated municipal register data, census data and survey data. In these data collection mechanisms, national, regional or minority (R/M), and immigrant language varieties are addressed, based on a home language and a main language question and a language proficiency question in terms of whether (and how well) this language can be spoken/understood/read/written.
Parliamentary institutions
In the UK Parliament, English is the sole language used in debates as well as in the drawing up and promulgation of laws.
Justice
Procedures are in English, but, in criminal proceedings a translation or interpretation service is available to those who do not speak or do not understand English. This is enshrined in the 2010 EU Directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings.
Administration
English is the language of use, but a large number of government services and administrations, particularly in local government, publish brochures in minority languages. This is required by equal opportunities policies. For example, the Department for Education publishes information brochures aimed at parents who speak a minority language, information leaflets for asylum seekers are available in different languages from the Department for Work and Pensions, and maternity and public health information is provided in different languages by the Department of Health.
Some local authorities have chosen to print bilingual signage (English/Urdu or English/Somali, for example), or even multi-lingual signage, in areas where a large number of inhabitants do not speak English.
However there has been an increase in political pressure to reduce the provision of translation services in the public sector with many Members of Parliament asking questions about the associated costs, and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government describing such provision as a “very expensive and a poor use of taxpayers’ money” in 2013[2] and examples of local authorities reducing the amount of translation offered, with an increased emphasis on expecting people to learn English.[3]
World of work
There is no regulatory legislation concerning languages. The fact that English is the language of general use means that it is the language required for most jobs. The United Kingdom Government has committed to not limiting the use of minority languages in documents relating to economic life, and specifically in contracts of employment, without reasonable cause.
Advertising
Advertising is not subject to any law or regulation. Advertising campaigns can run in languages other than English without the need to provide a translation. There are a number of bilingual signs but they are a matter of choice rather than the implementation of regulations, with advertising in languages other than English reflecting either the language of the target audience, or the branding of a product.
Education
Education in England is compulsory from five to 18 years of age. Children between the ages of 16 and 18 must stay in full-time education, for example at a college, start an apprenticeship or traineeship, or spend 20 hours or more a week working or volunteering, while in part-time education or training.
The government issues a collection of programmes for state schools (the National Curriculum), which include English as a compulsory subject. However, many types of state school in England are now quasi-independent and do not have to follow the National Curriculum (academies, free schools). The government and education standards authorities such as Ofsted measure pupils’ performance in English as part of the inspection regime and league tables. In practice, almost all schools teach in the medium of English and have English as a core subject.
A substantial number of school pupils are bilingual and the proportion is increasing. In 2013, one in six primary school pupils in England did not have English as their first language; in secondary schools this was just over one in eight. Once special schools and pupil referral units are taken into account, the total number of bilingual pupils rises to just over a million at 1,061,010. These figures more than doubled from 1997 to 2013.[4]
Children whose native language is not English receive linguistic support alongside their studies to enable them to attain the minimum level of understanding and expression to follow their course.
There is a highly developed network of supplementary schools (operating in the evenings and/or at weekends) providing lessons to children in their home language, but this is entirely privately organised and outside national education legislation.
Anyone wishing to undertake teacher training, whether British or of any other nationality, must prove a level of competence in English and are required to pass a Professional Skills Test before gaining Qualified Teacher Status.
Legal provisions concerning the linguistic integration of migrants and public linguistic training facilities provided for them (UK-wide)
The conferral of British nationality is subject to sufficient mastery of the English language, with exceptions for those over the age of 65 and nationals from certain countries.[5] To be able to settle in the UK (Indefinite leave to remain), immigrants must pass a Knowledge of Language and Life in the UK Test (KOLL).
There has been a reduction in the provision of English-language classes for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in England; whereas in Scotland there is an integration strategy which provides language classes.[6]
Principal legal provisions in force concerning the use of regional or minority languages (UK-wide)
The United Kingdom is a signatory to the 2001 European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages. As such, it recognises the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance where linguistic diversity is concerned, whether this be for Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Irish Gaelic or any other ‘regional’ or ‘minority’ language. In England, the only regional/minority language covered by the Charter is Cornish, which benefits from the support of a local office.[7]
Manx is also protected under the Charter in the Isle of Man, which is a separate legal entity from the rest of the UK.
Teaching foreign languages within the education system
Since Autumn 2003, it has no longer been compulsory to begin learning a modern foreign language in England after the age of 14, leaving only three years of compulsory language learning at secondary (ages 11 to 14).
However, in 2014 it became compulsory to learn a modern foreign language at primary school between the ages of 7 and 10.
A number of state-funded primary and especially secondary schools however are quasi-independent and have no legal requirement to follow these rules.
Government guidelines have used official performance measures to put pressure on schools to include languages in their teaching; for example:
- Since 2016 the schools inspectorate, Ofsted, has begun to look more closely at modern foreign languages provision at primary in their inspection reports.[8]
- Since 2010, the Ebacc measure of attainment for secondary pupils at age 16 has been used to measure schools’ performance. In 2015 the government further announced that it expects all secondary pupils to study all Ebacc subjects (include a modern foreign language) until the age of 16, by 2020.[9]
- The appointment of an MFL Lead within Ofsted, the schools inspectorate, in 2017.
The number of pupils taking a GCSE in languages has fallen by nearly 30% since 2003, although performance measures have stabilised numbers at approximately 50% of the cohort in recent years.
Progress 8, the additional schools performance measure which measures pupil progress across a range of 8 subjects (which does not have to include a modern foreign language), is currently being blamed for a renewed fall in the number of secondary school pupils taking a language at GCSE.[10]
II – WALES
Since 1993, Wales has held on principle that the Welsh and English languages are of equal status. Around 24% of the population of Wales speak Welsh – a proportion that is increasing year on year.[11] The Welsh Language Board, a specific body with responsibility for promoting the use of the Welsh language, reports directly to the Welsh National Assembly.
Legal framework
The Welsh Language Act, enacted in December 1993 by the Welsh National Assembly, put in place the basis of a national strategy for promoting and supporting Welsh language teaching and set out the principle that Welsh and English hold equal status in Wales. This was followed up by the Government of Wales Act 1998 and further enshrined in the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.
Administration and public services
The Welsh Government aims to make Wales a truly bilingual nation. A specific body has been created with responsibility for promoting and facilitating the use of Welsh. The Welsh Language Board, an official organisation financed entirely by the State and run by a committee selected by the Secretary of State for Wales, reports directly to the Welsh National Assembly.
In July 2006, the Welsh Government published a ‘Declaration on bilingual services’ which referred to the services provided by the Parliamentary Assembly. The administration will respond in Welsh to a letter written in Welsh and in English to a letter written in English. On the telephone, staff will answer in the language used by the caller. All documentation is bilingual. Those applying for public sector jobs are at an advantage if they can express themselves in both languages.
All public services in Wales were to draw up and implement Welsh language programmes. The 1993 law on the Welsh language defines those organisations which should be considered to be public. This list is regularly updated by amendments to the law.
The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 establishes a legal framework to impose a duty on some organisations to comply with standards of conduct on the Welsh Language. The Measure notes that Welsh Ministers may, by regulations, specify standards in the following areas:
- service delivery
- policy making
- operational
- promotion
- record keeping
The duties which come from the standards mean that organisations should not treat the Welsh language less favourably than the English language, together with promoting and facilitating the use of the Welsh language (making it easier for people to use in their day-to-day life).
Standards aim to:
- make it clear to organisations what their duties are in relation to the Welsh language
- make it clearer to Welsh speakers about the services they can expect to receive in Welsh
- make Welsh language services more consistent and improve their quality.
Media
Since 1982, the channel S4C broadcasts Welsh language programmes. S4C is a wholly Welsh language channel broadcasting over 115 hours of programmes each week. It commissions independent producers from across Wales to make the majority of its programmes. ITV Cymru Wales is also commissioned to produce programmes. BBC Cymru Wales provides around 10 hours of programming per week for S4C, including the news and daily soap Pobol y Cwm, funded out of the licence fee. [12]
Since April 2013, 90% of S4C’s income comes from the licence fee in agreement between the S4C Authority and BBC Trust. This agreement, originally until March 2017, has been extended to 2022.[13]
Wales’s two daily newspapers, the Western Mail and Daily Post, publish various Welsh language columns, as well as Welsh language media pages at the weekend.
Weekly newspaper Y Cymro and news and current affairs magazine Golwg are wholly in Welsh.
A number of regional newspapers such as the Cambrian News, Carmarthen Journal and the Glamorgan Gem feature Welsh language pages.[14]
Teaching Welsh
Welsh language is an integral part of the national teaching curriculum established variously by the 1988 Education Act, 1996 Education Act, 1998 School Standards and Framework Act, the Welsh Government’s School Admissions Code 2013, and School Standards and Organisation (Wales) Act 2013.[15]
From primary school, pupils can receive their education in Welsh if their parents request it. Legally, such a request cannot be refused.
Following the introduction of the Education Reform Act 1988, Welsh was phased in as a compulsory subject for pupils aged 5-14 (Key Stages 1, 2 and 3) from 1990. From September 1999 onwards, Welsh also became compulsory at ages 14-16 (Key Stage 4). With the introduction of the Foundation Phase in 2011, Welsh or Welsh Language Development is also taught to all 3-7 year olds. The National Curriculum for Wales is made up of core and foundation subjects, which are listed in the Education Act 2002. Welsh and English are both listed as core subjects through primary and secondary education.
Higher education establishments are authorised to teach in Welsh, but very few do, although the numbers of students learning through Welsh is rising, and the rate is accelerating. 7,070 students studied at least 5 credits through Welsh-medium in 2015/16.[16]
By 2010/11 16.7% of pupils were being taught Welsh as a first language (nearly all in Welsh-medium schools). All other pupils are taught Welsh as a second language although the level of achievement is low.
Foreign language teaching
In addition to Welsh, all pupils are also taught at least one foreign language during their first three years in secondary school. The percentage proceeding to take a public examination in a modern foreign language when aged 15 has been falling for many years. Between 2002 and 2016, the number of pupils studying a language to GCSE fell by 48%.[17]
In 2015 the Donaldson Review was published which recommended that MFL should be incorporated into primary school education from 2020.
Also in 2015 the Welsh government published Global Futures, a 5-year plan “to help learners in Wales communicate effectively in other languages and appreciate other cultures” – with the ambition that Welsh learners will follow a “bilingual +1” approach (English and Welsh plus a modern foreign language) from Year 5 onwards.[18] A British Council Wales schools survey in 2016 found that Global Futures had reached as many as 72% of the schools who responded, with many teachers commenting favourably on the support they had received.[19]
III – SCOTLAND
English is the native language for 93% of the Scottish population.
The Scots language is spoken or understood by a large part of the population although there has been debate about how to measure this. A question about Scots was included in the 2011 census for the first time. The total number of people who stated they could either, speak, read, write or understand Scots was 1.9 million (38% of the population). Out of this figure the number of people aged 3 and over who said they could speak Scots was 1,541,693 (30% of the population).[20]
A very small number speak Scottish Gaelic (around 1.7%).[21]
Legal framework
On 21 April 2005, the Scottish Parliament adopted the Gaelic Language Act. This states that Gaelic is an official language on the same footing as English.
It established an institution called the Bord na Gaedhlig and usually known simply as the Bord, which aims to promote the use of the Gaelic language and culture. In particular, it is charged with ensuring that the number of speakers able to understand the Gaelic language increases, supporting the use and understanding of Gaelic and facilitating access, both in Scotland and elsewhere, to the Gaelic language and culture.
This public agency also has the role of controlling the way in which the European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages is applied.
The relatively favourable standing given to Gaelic has raised questions about the position of the Scots language, which is also recognised under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, along with Ulster Scots. The Report of the Ministerial Working Group on the Scots Language (November 2010)[22] called for the Scottish Government to develop a Scots Language Policy and for Scotland to be presented internationally as a trilingual country. This policy was officially launched in September 2015. This national Scots policy sets out the Scottish government’s position on the Scots language, its aims and objectives for Scots and the practical steps we will take to achieve these. The Scottish government states that it will be working towards an Action Plan that will form an extension of the ‘practical steps’ section of the policy, followed by the development of a Scots Language Plan.[23]
Parliament
Until 2005, English was the only language recognised in the Scottish Parliament. Two consecutive Gaelic Language Plans have been published (2008-13[24] and 2013-18[25]) to ensure a systematic increase in Gaelic-medium parliamentary business, activities, services and documents. In practice, a majority of parliamentary business and services are conducted in English.
Administration
A large number of public administrations and bodies have produced a Gaelic language plan: the Scottish Executive, the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Arts Councils, public national agencies and regional or municipal councils (most notably, the City of Glasgow).
Teaching
Throughout Scotland, teaching is mostly carried out in English. Scotland’s national curriculum, the Curriculum for Excellence, recognises Gaelic as a mainstream subject of the curriculum and provides extensive curriculum guidance for its inclusion in mainstream teaching. The Curriculum for Excellence also recognises Scots as being an integral part of the Curriculum.
Teaching Scots
Provision for Scots in the eduacation system was found to be characterised by strong provision at primary and higher education levels in a 2009 audit commissioned by the Scottish government. It found support for Scots across higher education, including specialisms in Literature, History, Language, and in particular, Lexicography.[26]
Teaching Gaelic
Ever since the law on education of 1980 (The Scottish Education Act), education authorities have been obliged to offer teaching in schools and appropriate further education in Gaelic in regions where it is spoken. After the Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act 2000, education authorities had to report on their Gaelic teaching programmes.
The 2016 Education (Scotland) Act amended the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 to enshrine a duty on local authorities to “promote and support Gaelic education”[27]with specific statutory guidance for Gaelic Medium Education in primary and secondary schools. It enshrines the right of parents to access Gaelic Medium Education for their children from primary upwards.
The number of pupils who are in Gaelic medium education has risen from 24 in 1985 (its first year) to 3,892 in 2016, with a further 6,323 being taught Gaelic in school. This is equivalent to 1.45% of all pupils.[28]
Three Higher Education institutions offer degree courses in Gaelic: Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and Lews Castle College (both part of the University of the Highlands and Islands), and Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle (The Islay Columba Centre)
Foreign language teaching
Introduced in 2010, Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence treats learning holistically rather than as a series of separate subjects and therefore foreign modern languages are not technically compulsory at school but rather an ‘entitlement’. There have been concerns about the implications for MFL uptake; for example, in 2011 more than half of Scottish Local Authorities reported having at least one secondary school where languages were not compulsory with schools interpreting the ‘entitlement’ to language learning as having been met in primary school.
Language learning has been in decline in Scottish schools: whereas in 2001 practically all pupils studied a language up to the 4th year of secondary education, by 2010 this had dropped to 67%.[29]
In 2012 the Scottish government published its 1+2 policy, which aims to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn a modern language (known as L2) from P1 until the end of the broad general education (S3). Additionally, each child is entitled to learn a second modern language (known as L3) from P5 onwards. The policy should be fully implemented across the country by August 2021.[30]
Nonetheless, the persistently low number of students choosing to study a foreign language at Higher Grade (A Level) has provoked a debate on the usefulness of the system and the absence of any compulsory teaching.
Media
With the exception of one magazine and local newspapers, the press and media in general are in English. A number of daily newspapers do contain a Gaelic page or column.
The 1996 law on radio broadcasting aims to increase the number of Gaelic language broadcasts. The BBC-radio nan Gaedheal and four television channels, including the BBC, currently broadcast Gaelic language programmes.
IV – NORTHERN IRELAND
English is the de facto official language of Northern Ireland, even though there is no official statute conferring that status. While English is the vernacular, the 2001 census found that 10% of the population reported ‘some knowledge’ of Irish.
Legal Framework
The Belfast Agreement of 1998 specifies that the signing parties recognise “the importance of respect for cultural diversity…particularly for Irish, Ulster Scots and the languages of the various ethnic communities.”
Both Irish and Ulster Scots are protected by the UK’s participation in the 2001 European Charter on Regional and Minority Languages.
The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 set out principles of respect and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity. ‘The Irish language, Ulster Scots and the languages of the various ethnic minorities’ were all explicitly mentioned as contributing to the ‘cultural wealth’ of the province[31]. The North/South Language Body, established on 2 December 1999 and comprising two separate agencies, Foras na Gaeilge (Irish Language Agency) and Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch (Ulster-Scots Agency), promotes Irish and Ulster Scots and implements policies agreed by Ministers in the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland with regard to these two languages. In August 2000 the Department of Education in Northern Ireland established Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta to encourage and facilitate the strategic development of Irish medium education and provide guidance and advice to the Irish-medium sector.
The proposal of an Irish Language Act was first made in the St Andrew’s Agreement 2006 but has not been implemented. Fierce debate surrounds the proposal which touches on sensitive identity issues in the region.
Parliament & Administration
With very rare exceptions, English is the only language used in administration, the justice system, economic life and education.
Media
It is worth noting that the BBC broadcasts around 150 hours of Irish language radio but only three to four hours of Irish language television per year.
Teaching Irish
Irish medium education (IME) has been increasing in Northern Ireland since the first Irish medium primary school was set up by parents, outside the mainstream system, in 1971. 1.67% of all primary schoolchildren now attend IME primary schools or IME units within English language primary schools and the number is increasing year on year. IME is supported by government policy.
Up until the introduction of the Northern Ireland Curriculum in 1989, Irish was the second most common language after French despite being taught only in the Maintained (Catholic) sector, and maintained this position in GCSE entries until 2002. The language was excluded from fulfilling the compulsory language requirement offered by schools under the Northern Ireland Curriculum [1] but since 2006 has been reinstated. A GCSE Irish medium (Gaeilge) exam was introduced in 1993 to cater for the relatively small number of post-primary pupils being educated through Irish. Irish medium education presents more difficulties at secondary level than primary as a result of a lack of teachers able to teach other subjects through Irish at this level. Fewer than 0.5% of all secondary pupils are in Irish-medium education.
Foreign language teaching
Modern Languages did not find a place in the new Northern Ireland primary curriculum which was revised in 2007, despite a positive evaluation of pilot projects which took place between 2005 and 2007, involving 21 schools teaching mainly French, with some Spanish. Despite the lack of curricular requirement, a survey in 2007 found that 57% of responding primary schools were making some provision for the teaching of a second language, although in over half of cases this was in the form of extra-curricular activity.
From 2008 to 2015 the Department of Education for Northern Ireland funded a Primary Languages Programme which provided peripatetic teachers in Spanish or Irish to work alongside existing Key Stage 1 primary school classroom teachers (Polish was also included from 2009). The scheme was criticised for excluding French, which is the most widely taught language in secondary education. The scheme had involved approximately half of all Northern Ireland’s primary schools[32].
Modern foreign languages in secondary schools in Northern Ireland deteriorated rapidly after languages were made optional after the first three years of secondary education as part of the 2007 curriculum reform. This resulted in a 19% drop in numbers sitting GCSE examinations over three years with French, as the first foreign language taught, being the worst hit. However from 2012-17 MFL entries were stable, with MFL accounting for 7.2% – 7.3% of all GCSE entries year on year.[33] French has lost in popularity while Spanish and Irish have increased in popularity over this period. The trends are the same at A Level, where MFL accounts for 4.5% – 4.6% of entries every year.
- Austria/Autriche
- Belgium/Belgique
- Bulgaria/Bulgarie
- Croatia/Croatie
- Cyprus/Chypre
- Czech Republic / République Tchéque
- Denmark/Danemark
- Estonia/Estonie
- Finland/Finlande
- France/France
- Germany/Allemagne
- Greece/Grèce
- Hungary/Hongrie
- Iceland/Islande
- Ireland/Irlande
- Italy/Italie
- Latvia/Lettonie
- Lithuania/Lituanie
- Luxembourg/Luxembourg
- Malta / Malte
- Netherlands/Pay-Bas
- Norway
- Poland/Pologne
- Portugal/Portugal
- Romania/Roumanie
- Slovakia/Slovaquie
- Slovenia/Slovénie
- Spain/Espagne
- Sweden/Suédé
- United Kingdom / Royaume-Uni