Multilingualism and plurilingualism in Catalan territory and schools
Before we start with this investigation entry, I think it would be fair for you to know a bit about myself and where have I studied and lived, so you know why I chose these specific schools.
I was born and raised in a small town near Girona. I studied there for around 16 years. In Spain, once you finish ESO (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria) which is known as ‘high school’ in English, you can choose between continuing your studies or not. If you decide to continue, you can choose what is known as Bachillerato, which technically would be the last two years of high school. For these last two years, I changed schools to Girona and studied in Montilivi. Then, I moved to Barcelona to study for my degree and master's and well, now I live here, in Catalonia’s capital.
In this post, I would like to focus on the bilingualism and multilingualism of schools in Catalonia, but with special emphasis on the schools where I studied. And why not, talk about Catalonia’s linguistic teaching plan in a more general aspect because all schools should follow the same rules when talking about a non-University context. Well, truth be said, Catalonia itself is already a bilingual Comunidad Autonoma¹ as its official languages are both Catalan and Spanish at the same level, so schools are supposed to be bilingual as well. Both languages are taught in schools from a young age, and after starting primary school you have English as a second language or foreign language (because Catalan and Spanish are considered both L1). However, both towns I have lived in seem to be, in my own pre-investigation perspective, pretty multilingual, so let’s take a closer look at them both and their ‘foreign population’ from last year, 2021.
Let’s start with Girona. This city is known for many reasons: its Cathedral, its famous Jewish quarter, a medieval wall where you can walk on, the very stunning and red Eiffel Bridge, and the Onyar river surrounded by beautiful colorful houses. Well, when it comes to population, Girona has around 101.932 inhabitants. Only 20.49%, however, are foreigners. At most 20 minutes away by car, you will find my hometown, Bescanó. Well, in this small town of barely 5.094 inhabitants, only 4.81% are foreigners. Now that we have some data about its population, let's dwell on the bilingualism, plurilingualism and multilingualism of Catalan schools.
Firstly, let’s take a look at Dr. Sobrequés linguistic project. This was a school I went to during my preschool and primary school years. What is a linguistic project, one might ask? Well, according to EOI’s (Escola Oficial d’Idiomes de Barcelona) definition: “is the tool that enables schools to manage and organize, in accordance with current regulations, but in an independent way, certain aspects regarding the status and use of languages in the school and the curricular treatment of the different languages which are present in the school” (EOI, n.d). When it comes to schools and high schools all around Catalonia, it is important to know that it is mandatory for them to teach the three main languages in the territory: Catalan, Spanish, and English as a “foreign language”. Then, around high school, another foreign language is usually offered to their students (French, German, or some other, but usually those two are the main ones). Catalan and Spanish are always taught in Catalonia, to preserve the language and identity of the region: Catalan. Though in the last few years there have been many issues and discussions about the two main languages and the amount of time and classes it should be taught in mandatory school (I will not deepen into it too much as I want to focus mostly on their multilingual aims, but we will briefly talk about the current language discussions when it comes to schools in Catalonia).
Sadly, when it comes Dr. Sobrequés (primary school) linguistic project, it has not been updated beyond 2017. According to their linguistic project: “the primary vehicular language is Catalan, which will be boosted in all areas of coexistence and everyday communication.[...] Spanish is introduced at the beginning of the primary year”. (2017, p. 7). The center has a Linguistic immersion program (PIL in Catalan) with the main objective of easing the education of children who do not speak either Catalan or Spanish, from the moment they join the center. (2017, p. 11). The linguistic project also stated that “The implementation of the PIL is based on oral communication and the identification of Catalan as the language of the school. To achieve this, the teacher must speak Catalan from the very beginning, using strategies that facilitate comprehension and expression in the new language.” (2017, p.11).
Secondly, let’s take a look at the Montilivi’s (secondary education) linguistic project. Again, and similar to what happened with Dr. Sobrequés project, it has not been updated since 2018. Well, this high school's linguistic project stated that: “Catalan, as Catalonia's own language, will be used normally as a vehicular language for teaching and learning and in internal and external activities” (2018, p. 4). When it comes to teaching Spanish or foreign languages, the teacher will stick to using those specific languages. However, the other classes will be taught in Catalan. Moreover, it states as well that once the academic years are finished, the student must be able “to understand and express themselves adequately both orally and adequately, both orally and in writing, in the different areas of school and social and social communication, in the two official languages of Catalonia, and also in the two official languages of Catalonia, as well as in the foreign language(s) chosen for the curriculum.” (PROJECTE LINGÜÍSTIC, p. 8, section d.).
What if a student who speaks neither Catalan nor Spanish, the two official languages, enrolls at Institut Montilivi? Well, according to their linguistic project: “the student is fully integrated into the center and participates from the first day in the aules d’acollida², where they receive personalized linguistic attention in Catalan, which over time will allow them to access the regular curriculum in the best possible conditions. Mainly, they only receive training in Catalan to avoid interference and hinder the process. [...] Even so, Spanish is incorporated as a language of learning much later, when he has already minimally consolidated the learning of Catalan in understanding and expression” (PROJECTE LINGÜÍSTIC, p. 16). Likewise, the center organizes curricular and extracurricular activities to promote the use of Catalan. When it comes to a ‘second language’ or the introduction of a ‘foreign language’ the school only offers English and French. Those classes, as previously said, are taught only in their respective language, though for lower levels the use of it is between 20% and 30%. (PROJECTE LINGÜÍSTIC, p. 33, section 2.3.1.1.5) If we take a look at the section 2.3.1.3. Projectes i programes plurilingües in page 34 of Montilivi’s linguistic project, we can see that they foster exchange programs for their students with other schools that offer multilingual and/or plurilingual projects.
Now that we focused a bit on these two schools and their linguistic plan, we can see that they follow a very similar, if not the same, linguistic plan. Why is that so? Well, as stated in the beginning of the entry, in Catalonia the Generalitat de Catalunya has a specific Law when it comes to the use and learning of official languages in non-university education. According to Parlament de Catalunya (Parliament of Catalonia): “teaching has been recognized as a fundamental instrument of social cohesion and of the linguistic normalization process. This process is initially framed by Law 7/1983, of April 14, on linguistic standardization, which in the preamble sets as the aim of education the knowledge of both languages and in Title II establishes that Catalan, as its own language, it is also the language of education at all educational levels and sets the general framework of the linguistic system of education.” (2022, p. 1). It also states that according to the law, in terms of education their students will not be discriminated into different groups because of language as the law guarantees knowledge and access to both languages of the country.
Thus, what is my goal with all this information? Basically, to learn and understand the strength and spread of multilingualism and multilingualism in Catalan schools. Though focusing mostly on schools I have studied at, but also with a bigger picture in mind. Remember that Catalonia has two official languages, both Catalan and Spanish. Does this make the schools in Catalonia bilingual? Sadly no. The schools would not be considerate bilinguals as bilingual education mixes their languages in different subjects, whereas in Catalan schools, every other subject except for Spanish class, is taught in Catalan in order to foster the Catalan language. The type of education Catalonia has, rather than bilingualism, is more of an Immersion. The centers follow more of a heteroglossic education in which children, with different backgrounds, do not start out as monolinguals but have access to different language practices. Their goal, rather than bilingualism, is a plurilingual development in which they use different languages to teach the target language (information retrieved on October 26th from a PPT of The Acquisition of English As a Foreing Language in Bilingual and Multilingual Contexts class)³. It is important to say, however, that according to the official law on the use and learning of official languages in non-university education from Catalonia: “Catalan schools are becoming realities that are not only multilingual but even heteroglossic in which students often use more than one language to carry out the same activity” (2022, p.2).
I believe that rather than foster bilingualism, there is a bigger aim in the Catalan language in order to preserve the country's language (keep in mind that Catalonia is quite a political part of Spain when it comes to its language and cultural preservation). English is added around primary years as a ‘foreign language’ or ‘second language, which promotes the institutions' multilingualism and plurilingualism. Finally, when it comes to higher education (pre-university) another foreign language also known as ‘third language’ is added. This one is usually up to the center, but they tend to be either Romance or Germanic languages. Schools also tend to offer immersion programs for foreign or immigrant students that will help them reach the schools’ goals, their own needs and goals, and finally, help them learn the official languages of Catalonia.
And what is happening now in Catalonia? As previously stated, it is quite a political territory where constant discussion between teaching mostly in Catalan and/or Spanish is carried out. While the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) decided that 25% of the classes in schools ought to be taught in Spanish. Before this was decided around the year 2020, there had never been a precise percentage of how many hours of classes have to be taught in Catalan or Spanish. Catalan is still, and will continue to be, the main language in schools, but there has been a rise in the percentage of classes taught in Spanish. Contrary to that, the Generaitat de Catalunya (Catalonia’s Government) was not too keen on this new law and did not want to follow it. Again, all of this is pretty much political rather than linguistic, which is a bit disappointing as the main focus of schools should be to promote all languages and try to implement bilingual education rather than, maybe, having these arguments. But once again, we are not here to discuss political issues.
In brief, while Catalonia is pretty much a bilingual territory, public schools are not. Their goal is plurilingualism, rather than nurturing bilingualism. Therefore, if you want to enroll your children in Catalan schools, you need to be aware of this difference; it is not a bilingual school where more than of languages are used ‘equally’ in different subjects, but rather an immersion program that fosters the knowledge and usage of different languages. But do not worry, it is every school's main goal that once the student finishes, they have the same level and knowledge of both official languages.
¹Comunidad Autonoma: “In Spain the comunidades autónomas are any of the 19 administrative regions consisting of one or more provinces and having political powers devolved from Madrid, as stipulated by the 1978 Constitution. They have their own democratically elected parliaments, form their own cabinets and legislate and execute policies in certain areas such as housing, infrastructure, health and education, though Madrid still retains jurisdiction for all matters affecting the country as a whole, such as defence, foreign affairs and justice”. (HarperCollins Publishers, 2022).
³ The Power Point from where the information was retrieved was consulted on The Acquisition of English As a Foreing Language in Bilingual and Multilingual Contexts moodle (Universitat Internacional de Catalunya) around October the 26th of 2022.
References used on this entry:
Escola Dr. Sobrequés. (2016, September 28). PROJECTE LINGÜÍSTIC ESCOLA DR SOBREQUÉS - BESCANÓ. https://docplayer.es/133322982-Projecte-linguistic-escola-dr-sobreques-bescano.html
HarperCollins. (2022). Comunidad autónoma. In Collins English dictionary. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/es/diccionario/espanol-ingles/comunidad-aut%C3%B3noma
Idescat. (2022, February 28). Població estrangera a 1 de gener. Per municipis. Catalunya. https://www.idescat.cat/poblacioestrangera/?b=6
Institut Montilivi. (2018, September 1). 17-18 Guia informativa batxillerat. https://www.institutmontilivi.cat/articles/oferta-formativa/batxillerat/17-18_Guia_informativa_BAT.pdf
Institut Montilivi. (n.d.). PROJECTE LINGÜÍSTIC INSTITUT MONTILIVI. https://www.institutmontilivi.cat/articles/oferta-formativa/batxillerat/17-18_Guia_informativa_BAT.pdf
Linguistic Project | Eoibd. (n.d.). https://www.eoibd.cat/en/escola/documentacio/projecte-linguistic/
neilmac. (2020, October 23). aula de acogida. In ProZ.com Translation Services. ttps://www.proz.com/kudoz/spanish-to-english/education-pedagogy/6885818-aula-de-acogida.html
Orientació Acadèmica LOMLOE. (2020). Es presenten les principals novetats de la Llei Orgànica 3/2020, de 29 de desembre, per la qual es modifica la Llei Orgànica 2/2006, de 3 de maig, d'Educació. https://www.educaweb.cat/continguts/educatius/sistema-educatiu/lleis-educacio/lomloe-2020/
Pascual, M. (2022, May 31). De dónde viene la cuota del 25% en castellano en las aulas de Cataluña y qué implica la sentencia del TSJC. Newtral. https://www.newtral.es/25-castellano-tsjc-cataluna/20220531/
Vallespín, I. (2022, September 1). Cataluña comunica a las escuelas que no apliquen el 25% de castellano a partir del lunes. El País. https://elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2022-09-01/cataluna-comunica-a-las-escuelas-que-no-apliquen-el-25-de-castellano-a-partir-del-lunes.html
Vallespín, I. (2022, October 14). La justicia mantiene el 25% de castellano en los colegios catalanes que ya lo aplicaban. El País. https://elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2022-09-22/la-justicia-mantiene-el-25-de-castellano-en-las-aulas-que-ya-lo-aplicaban.html#:~:text=El%20Tribunal%20de%20Justicia%20de,no%20impide%20fijar%20porcentajes%20ling%C3%BC%C3%ADsticos&text=El%20Tribunal%20Superior%20de%20Justicia,que%20ya%20lo%20ten%C3%ADan%20reconocido
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