Two lecturers felt that the language skills of the bilingual students
needed to be improved so that they could be confident in both their lan-
guages. They were concerned that some Welsh-medium students still lacked
confidence in speaking English when leaving the University.
In one lecturer’s opinion, bilingualism is acceptable in schools but unsuit-
able at university level. He was concerned about the implications for aca-
demic standards if all lectures had to be delivered bilingually. Another drew
attention to the differences between the situation in higher education and in
bilingual schools, stating that in the latter, the aim of developing pupils’ two
languages creates an educational motivation for bilingual lessons. In con-
trast, financial considerations are the motive for bilingual provision in higher
education, according to two lecturers. They acknowledged that it could be
difficult to provide separate Welsh-medium and English-medium lectures for
financial reasons. The Head of the School of Education also acknowledged
the financial disadvantages of maintaining small classes, but emphasized
that the bilingual provision was not motivated by these considerations. One
lecturer stated that he was not opposed to bilingual teaching when imple-
mented for valid reasons, for instance when it is considered beneficial for
each language group to learn from the experiences of the other. However, it
was emphasized that careful, long-term planning is required to ensure the
success of bilingual teaching.
The students revealed a variety of attitudes during group interviews.
Among the Welsh-medium students, eight were in favour of bilingual provi-
sion while four were opposed to it. Three of the students were dissatisfied
because they had chosen a Welsh-medium course and had indeed paid for
that provision. Four of them wanted to improve their Welsh language skills
and two wanted to improve their English language skills, and the bilingual
sessions enabled them to do that. Twenty of the Welsh-medium cohort stated
that they did not wish to see an increase in the number of bilingual modules,
and one was of the opinion that bilingual teaching was more successful in
practical sessions than in lecturer-centred sessions.
Seven of the English-medium students demonstrated a positive atti-
tude towards bilingualism and the Welsh language. Five of them wished
to learn Welsh but did not believe that it was possible in the context of
the bilingual sessions. In their opinion, Welsh lessons would be more
useful. Five of the English-medium cohort were against any expansion of
the bilingual provision, however, and two expressed dissatisfaction with
the current arrangements. One student felt that the bilingual provision
was of no benefit to students intending to teach in England. Another
English-medium student said that he did not understand the need for
bilingual provision, as everybody could speak English. It may be benefi-
cial to explain the purpose of the bilingual sessions at the start of each
course, in order to avoid misunderstanding and to ensure respect for each
language group.
194 Part 4: Bilingual Education