Promoting international languages in Wales: A study of the role of Routes into Languages Cymru and its approach to motivating learners

Jepson, Eira 2023. Promoting international languages in Wales: A study of the role of Routes into Languages Cymru and its approach to motivating learners. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Wales, like the rest of the UK, is currently experiencing a rapid decline in the number of learners of International Languages (IL) in schools, compounded by the erosion of language provision in education more generally. Despite the concerted effort of language promotion initiatives over the last two decades, trends in learner numbers continue to worsen and societal atitudes towards language learning remain worrying. This calls into question the effectiveness of such initiatives at motivating learners and has highlighted a lack of thorough evaluation of the motivational approaches used in language promotion. This thesis presents an applied, qualitative study of Routes into Languages Cymru, Wales’ longest-standing language promotion initiative. Using multiple perspectives from within the case study, the research aims to investigate how Routes Cymru moJvates language learners, providing critical insight into the approaches used. These are explored on both a strategic level, examining the role and objectives of Routes Cymru as an initiative, and on a practical level, examining Student Language Ambassadors’ (SLA) own experiences of participating in Routes Cymru, as well as their views on the best methods for motivating pupils. The findings of this research position Routes Cymru as the cornerstone of the language promotion community and movement in Wales, although it faces multiple pressures and structural impediments that restrict its ability to reverse uptake trends. Nevertheless, the research indicates that adopting an intrinsically oriented, holistic, and multilingual approach to language promotion, as opposed to promoting extrinsic rewards, could maximise the transformative potential of Routes Cymru’s activities for learners. Prioritising pupils’ enjoyment of language learning and supporting them to (re)connect and (re)identify with the process goes some way to disrupting pupils’ current demotivation in the learning experience. Such an approach aligns with SLAs’ own intrinsically motivated language journeys, which are reinforced through the rewarding experience of participating in Routes Cymru. The results suggest that Routes Cymru, and language promotion more generally, would benefit from a clarification of its objectives in the current context, with the purpose of better valuing and highlighting opportunities for transformative change in participants, motivating them to continue along varied language learning pathways.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Modern Languages
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PB Modern European Languages
Funders:	ESRC
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	3 June 2024
Last Modified:	03 Jun 2024 15:26
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/169448

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