8. Languages and Language Learning in Catalan Schools: From the Bilingual to the Multilingual Challenge

Abstract

The Spanish Constitution presently in force was enacted in 1978 1 and it granted regional languages a co-official status alongside Spanish in the territories where such languages were spoken. In Catalonia, a bilingual Community 2 , this resulted in the progressive return of Catalan to schools, where it had been absent for the previous forty years. Soon afterwards, the Act on Linguistic Normalization (1983 3), emanating from the Statute of Autonomy (1979), generalized the use of the regional language as the medium of instruction for content subjects in kindergarten, primary and secondary education. Twenty-two years later, some of the main objectives set by the Act on Linguistic Normalization have been successfully achieved, whereas a few remain elusive. In the interim, a more complex linguistic scenario has emerged as a consequence of globalization and new realities are progressively making their way into schools. On one hand, society demands that schools raise their standards in international languages, which, for the moment, has resulted in (a) lowering the compulsory starting point for foreign language learning from the 1 Our gratitude to the editors and the anonymous reviewer for their comments and dedication. Special thanks are due to our colleague Luci Nussbaum for her feedback and support.

Language Policies, Ideologies, and Attitudes, Part 2: International Immigration, Globalization and the Future of Catalan

“…Promoting a local language like Catalan alongside the ultimate global one, English, may be seen as pursuing '(apparently) opposing' objectives (Escobar Urmeneta and Unamuno 2008). However, there does not appear to be much opposition despite some concern about domination by supposed 'Anglo-Saxon' cultural values (discussed by Vila 2013).…”