Watch Back: Building a Welsh Language Research Infrastructure: Access, Confidence, and the Path into Higher Education
On Monday 21 September, the Learned Society of Wales’s Early Career Researchers’ Network hosted a webinar exploring the use of Welsh in higher education and research.
With an ambition of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050, and growing numbers of young people coming through Welsh-medium education, the session looked at the gap that remains between school and university, and the institutional and cultural barriers that affect how researchers and students use the language professionally and academically.
Chaired by Professor Enlli Thomas FLSW, the session opened with her reflections on that gap, which she suggested stems from a lack of confidence, misunderstandings about language standards, and the level of support available. Drawing on her own PhD experience, she highlighted the importance of building the skills and confidence to engage with your subject in both languages, and of creating dedicated spaces for developing those skills in Welsh, particularly in fields where access to the language is harder.
Dr Katharine Young opened the session with research drawing on data from teachers across Wales. She looked at how linguistic shame persists in schools, and how this can leave students feeling ill-prepared to use the language in higher education. Drawing on his own experience as the author of the first chemistry PhD thesis written in the Welsh, Dr Owain Beynon discussed challenges and rewards of conducting scientific research through Welsh, as well as efforts to expand Welsh-medium teaching in STEM subjects. Dr Gwennan Higham focused on the divide between first- and second-language Welsh speakers in higher education, and on approaches that build language development alongside academic confidence and a sense of belonging for students entering Welsh-medium study through the second-language route.
The session then turned to the policy picture, with Dr Bedwyr ab Ion Thomas discussing Medr’s responsibilities under the Tertiary Education and Research (Wales) Act 2022 to promote, fund and regulate tertiary education and research through Welsh, and the place of research and innovation in the forthcoming National Plan for Tertiary Education.
Dr Manon James of Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol shared an overview of the Coleg’s work, including its research scholarship scheme and Welsh-medium research skills training. The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Learned Society of Wales have been working together for years on supporting scholarship in the Welsh language across all areas of study, from our joint annual lecture, to our Three Minute Thesis competition for Early-Career Researchers.
Thank you to Professor Enlli Thomas FLSW for chairing, to all our speakers, and to everyone who joined us.
The full recording of the webinar is available to watch below:
