Focus on Practice (English)

Improving Welsh Confidence and Competence through Bilingual Delivery

Author

• • Amy Lewis aslewis@bridgend.ac.uk Email Amy Lewis. (compose email, opens in email app.)

Abstract

The Welsh Government's ‘Active Offer’ strategy (2022) is aiming to increase the number of Welsh speakers by ensuring that everyone who works in Health and Social Care (H and S Care) has courtesy level Welsh. A communications module was delivered bilingually to a group of H and S Care students for 10 weeks. Students rated themselves on their Welsh language speaking skills, their confidence in speaking courtesy Welsh and how important they thought it was to deliver services bilingually before and after delivery. Results showed that the students self-reported Welsh speaking skills, confidence in using these skills and their understanding of the importance of speaking Welsh and the ‘Active Offer’ had increased. Qualitative feedback showed that the students were generally positive about the bilingual delivery and enjoyed increasing their Welsh skills.

Keywords: bilingualism, welsh skills, active offer

How to Cite: Lewis, A. (2026) “Improving Welsh Confidence and Competence through Bilingual Delivery”, Wales Journal of Education. 1(0). doi: https://doi.org/10.16922/focus21