Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd a’ toirt seachad taisbeanadh mu Fhoghlam tron Ghàidhlig aig tachartas air-loidhne Bilingualism Matters le Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann

Chaidh cuireadh a thoirt do Lena Walker, Oifigear Foghlaim airson Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd, taisbeanadh a thoirt seachad mu ‘An Àbhaist Ùr airson Chànanan san Dachaigh, san Sgoil agus sa Choimhearsnachd’ aig tachartas air-loidhne Bilingualism Matters le Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, le SCILT nan co-aoighean.

Thuirt Cathraiche Comataidh na Gàidhlig aig Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd, an Comhairliche Calum Rothach: “Tha mi fìor thoilichte gun deach aire a tharraing gu Foghlam tron Ghàidhlig air àrd-ùrlar cho mòr, gu h-àraid bho shealladh na Gàidhealtachd. Aig an tachartas, chuala na bha an làthair mu na dùbhlain a bha mar coinneimh rè agus ron choròna-bhìoras a thaobh a bhith ag adhartachadh cleachdadh a’ chànain nar dachaighean agus mar as urrainn dhuinn taic a chur ris a’ chànan a’ dol air adhart”.

Thuirt e cuideachd, “’S e cuspair cudromach a th’ ann am Foghlam tron Ghàidhlig ann an curraicealam na sgoile agus tha dreuchd riatanach aig a’ chànan fhèin anns na coimhearsnachdan againn air feadh na sgìre. Is math a rinn Lena agus bu mhath leam taing a thoirt dhi airson ar riochdachadh aig an tachartas seo, agus tha sinn an dòchas, aig tachartasan eile san àm ri teachd.”

Bha Iain Iòsaph MacNèill, Prìomh Chaidreabhach Teagaisg ann am Foghlam Gàidhlig aig Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann, anns a’ chathair aig a’ cho-labhairt-lìn shònraichte ‘Foghlam tron Ghàidhlig tron Ghlasadh-sluaigh – Dùbhlain agus Innleachdan’ agus chaidh a fosgladh leis an Ollamh Antonella Sorace, stiùiriche-stèidheachaidh Bilingualism Matters.

Bha an seiminear a’ gabhail a-steach còmhradh mu na dùbhlain a tha mu choinneamh thidsearan ann a bhith a’ brosnachadh cleachdadh cànain na dachaigh ann an suidheachaidhean bun-sgoile agus feumalachdan taice a bharrachd, mar a dh’fhaodas ionnsachadh didseatach ar cuideachadh gus taic a chur ris na dùbhlain a tha an lùib mion-chànain, a’ leasachadh chom-pàirteachasan le teaghlaichean is coimhearsnachdan agus mar as urrainn dhuinn ionnsachadh bho eòlas a thog sinn sa ghlasadh-sluaigh.

Thuirt an t-Oifigear Foghlaim, Lena Walker: “Bu toil leam taing a thoirt do dh’Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann agus SCILT airson cuireadh a thoirt dhuinn gus taisbeanadh a thoirt seachad aig an tachartas seo. B’ e cothrom air leth a bha seo aire a tharraing chun na h-obrach a tha sinn a’ dèanamh an-ceartuair sna sgoiltean againn. Aig a’ cheart àm, tha seo a’ soilleireachadh far an urrainn dhuinn leasachadh gus taic a chur ri ionnsachadh cànain san dachaigh agus san sgoil. Chòrd e glan rium a bhith an lùib an tachartais seo agus tha mi an dòchas gun urrainn dhuinn a dhèanamh a-rithist san àm ri teachd.”

Bha a’ cho-labhairt-lìn na ro-ràdh do chuspair fìor iom-fhillte FtG agus mion-chànanan, agus tha Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann an dùil seiseanan eile a chur air dòigh san àm ri teachd.

Gheibhear tuilleadh fiosrachaidh an seo.


Highland Council gives presentation on Gaelic Medium Education (GME) at Edinburgh University Bilingualism Matters online event 

Lena Walker, Education Officer for The Highland Council, was invited to present at the Edinburgh University Bilingualism Matters online event, co-hosted with SCILT on ‘The New Normal for Languages at Home, School and in the Community’. 

Chair of the Council’s Gaelic Committee, Cllr Calum Munro, said: “I am delighted that Gaelic Medium Education has been highlighted on a large platform, particularly from a Highland perspective. At the event, attendees heard of the challenges we faced during and pre-coronavirus on promoting the use of language in our homes and how we can promote the language going forward”.

He added: “Gaelic Medium Education is an important subject within our school curriculum and the language itself plays a vital role in our communities across the region. Well done and thank you to Lena for representing us on this occasion, and hopefully, in future events”.

The specific webinar ‘Gaelic Medium Education during Lockdown – Challenges and Innovations’ was chaired by John Joe MacNeil, Senior Teaching Fellow in Gaelic Education at the University of Edinburgh and opened by Professor Antonella Sorace (founding director of Bilingualism Matters) (EN).  

The seminar included discussion on a snapshot of the challenges for teachers encouraging home language use in a primary and additional support needs (ASN) settings, how digital learning can help to support the challenges of a minority language, developing partnerships with families and communities and how we can learn from experiences in lockdown.

Education officer, Lena Walker, said: “I wish to thank Edinburgh University and SCILT for inviting us to present at this event. This was a great opportunity to draw attention to the work that we are currently doing in our schools. At the same time, it highlights where we can improve to support language learning at home and in school settings. I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this event and hope to do so again in the future.”

The webinar was an introduction to the very complex topic of GME and minority language, and Edinburgh University intend to run further sessions in the future.

More information can be found here.

25 Sep 2020