Acceso usuarios
Charlotte L.R. Selleck
This article reports on a study of two contrasting secondary schools, serving the same ‘community’ in south-west Wales; a bilingual school (Welsh and English) and an English-medium school (English only). Data were gathered using ethnographic methods, with this study focusing primarily on data elicited through ‘ethnographic chats’. The analysis is informed by ethnographic participation, observation and subsequent field notes. The study aims to shed light on the dichotomy between the inclusive nature of Welsh language policy and the ‘reality’ on the ground. It questions whether an apparently inclusive policy can and does in fact lead to social inclusiveness at the level of usage and practice. The article takes, as its starting point, two opposing ideologies, ‘flexible’ and ‘separate’ bilingualism (Blackledge and Creese 2010), and discusses these in relation to their different ideological underpinnings and corresponding institutional arrangements. The article shows how the students' experiences, of the impact of bilingual policies at school, affect the notion of choice and are shown to be inconsistent with Welsh language policy. The article concludes by questioning what ideological model of bilingual education is desirable; can the more open ideology (‘flexible bilingualism’) ‘save the language’? Alternatively, is the cost of ‘separate’ bilingualism too high?
