Topic guide to: Language

Modern Foreign Languages in Schools in Wales

Department: Welsh Assembly Government
Statistical bulletin examining the available data on examination entry and performance in modern foreign languages GCSE (not including short course GCSE) and A levels.

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Welsh in Higher Education Institutions

Department: Welsh Assembly Government
Provides information about students enrolled at Welsh Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) taught through the medium of Welsh and information on staff teaching through the medium of Welsh.

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Welsh in Schools

Department: Welsh Assembly Government
Presents a variety of statistics related to the use of the Welsh language in schools in Wales.

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Information about language is of interest for a number of reasons:

• to provide services in other languages where English is not understood

• to gain a better understanding of diversity in the UK enhancing information about ethnic group

• to understand the impact of language ability on social exclusion 

• to monitor the uptake of national languages other than English, for example, Welsh

There are a variety of aspects of language use that surveys can measure:

• whether an individual understands, speaks, reads or writes a language

• the languages an individual speaks at home

• an individual’s main language

• proficiency in English

• how often an individual speaks a language

In the 2006 Labour Force Survey, English was not the first language at home for 6 per cent of the UK population aged 16 and older:

• Welsh     0.4 per cent

• Ulster Scots/ Ullans   0.1 per cent

• Gaelic   <0.1 per cent

• Other     5.4 per cent

A question on speaking Welsh has been included on every Census in Wales since 1891:

• 54 per cent of the population spoke Welsh in 1891 

• the proportion of people speaking Welsh has fallen every year until 1991

• 19 per cent of the population spoke Welsh in 1991

In 2001, 21 per cent of the population in Wales said they could speak Welsh - a rise largely associated with the language now being taught in schools:

• 20 per cent able to read Welsh 

• 18 per cent able to write Welsh

• 24 per cent could understand spoken Welsh

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Current position

Previous UK censuses have collected complete information on whether people understand, speak, read or write Welsh, Irish, and Scottish Gaelic. These questions were included in the Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish censuses respectively. 

The Welsh Language Act 1993 places a duty on public organisations in Wales to treat both the Welsh and English languages equally. Further information on Welsh language Census data can be found on the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website.

The Labour Force Survey asks:

• ‘What is your first language at home?’ in the UK to those aged 16. Response options are ‘English’, ‘Welsh’, ‘Gaelic’, ‘Ulster Scots/ Ullans’ and ‘Other’

• additional questions about whether language difficulties have caused problems in ‘finding or keeping a job’ and ‘with your education’

• questions about the knowledge of Welsh language in Wales

Future plans

ONS proposes to continue to measure Welsh language proficiency in Wales in 2011.

A detailed consultation on user needs for ethnicity, national identity, language and religion information from the future 2011 Census in England and Wales took place between December 2006 and March 2007.

Question testing research was carried out with members of the public throughout 2007. ONS made recommendations in autumn 2008 on the questions for the 2009 Rehearsal and 2011 Census. These include:

•  ‘What is your main language?’

•  ‘How well can you speak English?'

Further details on the consultations and the reports that followed can be found on the ONS Census website. These responses, along with those from other users and stakeholders, informed further question development.

Question testing research with members of the public took place throughout 2007. ONS made recommendations in autumn 2008 on the questions for the 2009 Rehearsal and 2011 Census. These will need to be agreed by Parliament in early 2010.

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