clear-cut boundaries between the languages of bilinguals, but functional
integration. For García (2009a) and Creese and Blackledge (2010), this is
dynamic bilingualism with the interconnected use of the two languages to
negotiate meaning and situations.
The next section discusses the aims, methodology and some initial find-
ings of the first major survey into Welsh-medium and bilingual teaching and
learning in schools across Wales, with particular focus on the effective use of
translanguaging pedagogies as defined by Williams (1994, 1996).
Methodology of the Research
Research aim and questions
The survey aimed to define and analyse different models of bilingual
education in Wales, focusing on the concurrent use of Welsh and English
with different groups of pupils in a variety of lessons and subject areas across
the primary and secondary curriculum.
The following overarching questions served as the focus for the research
project:
(a) How do primary and secondary teachers allocate two languages for
teaching and learning in Welsh/English bilingual classrooms?
(b) Which models of bilingual education can be identified from current
classroom observation?
The project operated in three stages:(1) surveying and observing existing classroom practice leading to an initial
typology of language arrangements;
(2) consultation with practitioners and advisers so as to define optimally
effective language allocation strategies and language arrangements;
(3) production of training materials for the pre-service and in-service educa-
tion of teachers, to relay optimally effective language allocation strate-
gies and language arrangements in the classroom.
Sample of schools
All schools in Wales that use Welsh as a main medium of instruction were
considered during the planning stage of the research. The final selection was
based on a purposive sample of secondary schools and feeder primary schools
across Wales, representative of different geographic and sociolinguistic
contexts.
At the commencement of the survey (2007/08), according to the Welsh
Assembly Government’s statistical bulletin (Welsh Assembly Government,
146 Part 4: Bilingual Education