Cardiff Met to offer free Welsh classes to combat the lack of Welsh-medium teachers

Cardiff Metropolitan University will offer free Welsh lessons to students in order to combat a lack of Welsh-medium teachers.

The decision comes as the Senedd found that its goal of having one million Welsh speakers in the education sector by 2050 is unlikely to be reached.

From next semester, education students at Cardiff Met will be able to access weekly free Welsh lessons as part of the “Welsh for Educators” scheme, with the goal of improving current speaking levels.

The classes are on a first come first serve basis and students will be able to take part in pre-sessional preparatory courses and language proficiency workshops.

Daniel Tiplady, Head of the Welsh Language Unit at Cardiff Metropolitan University said: “As the largest provider of teacher training in Wales, Cardiff Met is extremely motivated to address the shortage of Welsh speaking teachers in classrooms across the country.

“The Welsh for Educators scheme aims to reduce the barriers for learning Welsh by introducing on-campus lessons with Cardiff Met’s own tutors and boost the confidence of those who can already speak Welsh.

“We’re hopeful that our education students will take up this opportunity to develop themselves professionally as they embark on their future career in a truly rewarding industry.”

Wales’ Minister for Education and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles told ITV Wales: “Increasing the number of teachers who can teach Welsh and through the medium of Welsh is vital to achieving our ambition of one million Welsh speakers by 2050, so I want to make it as easy as possible for them to have access to Welsh courses for free.

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“I’m pleased to be working with Cardiff Metropolitan University on this initiative, which is another step towards giving a chance to everyone in Wales to speak Welsh.”

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