Croeso i Gymru* *Welcome to Wales

A GROUP of children sit in a colourful classroom excitedly waving their hands, keen to chat about themselves in their newly learnt language of Welsh.

They have come from far and wide – one young girl says she used to live in India, another says she was from England, while another child is from the local area, the island of Anglesey off the north Wales coast.

And while they have different backgrounds, they will all be fluent in Welsh by the time they leave the language centre (canolfan iaith), in the village of Moelfre, at the end of just one term.

Eira Owen, who has been teaching at the centre for 13 years, says the ease with which different children pick up the language depends on their background and circumstances.

“Generally, foreign children do very well,” she said. “Sometimes they don’t have much English but that doesn’t matter because of the way we teach.”

Learning using movement and song

The centre is one of two on Anglesey, collectively known as Canolfan Iaith Môn, which are described as immersion centres because of the way they completely immerse pupils in the Welsh language. There are just 16 children to every two teachers, often splitting into two smaller groups of eight, and the staff have a fun and lively approach to learning using movement and song.

Eira explains: “Movement is very important to learning, and singing as well. So it doesn’t matter if a child has no English, they can learn Welsh using a lot of gestures.”

During a quick tea break after a clearly energetic session with her group, Alison Edwards says breathlessly: “It does work. Singing definitely helps, they can pick up the rhythm of the language.”

If there are any problems with understanding, the teachers use the SayHi Translate app, which Eira says is particularly useful if, for example, a child is distressed.

Some of the youngsters are from refugee families who have fled dangerous parts of the world. Before Christmas three Ukrainian children won the hearts of the staff with their enthusiasm and success in learning Welsh, but Eira said there was sometimes a sadness about them too. One had left their father behind and another worried about her cousins.

Eira has completed a trauma-informed diploma to help her understand how to approach such situations: “I thought it was important – we do see a lot of distress.”

Catching up after Covid

It is not only children from abroad who come to the centre. Other “late arrivers” – for example, children of English people moving to the area or working in the nearby university or hospital – join the classes, as do local children who have fallen behind with their Welsh for different reasons.

Many struggled following the Covid lockdown, and the centre is able to help rebuild their confidence and boost their language skills so they can return to their own schools better able to continue their studies.

Anglesey County Council has a bilingual system of education and is committed to all school pupils being proficient in Welsh and English by the end of their schooling.

The two language centres on the island are for seven- to 11-year-olds, but extra funding from the Welsh Government in 2021 means the staff can now go into local secondary schools to help older pupils.

The money was part of a £2.2 million fund for local authorities across Wales as part of the Welsh Government’s aim to have a million Welsh speakers by 2050.

For many local authorities it meant the creation of their first immersion centres, and Canolfan Iaith Môn has received many visitors from across the principality keen to learn from its expertise.

A spokesman for the council said: “Years of experience tell us that the time spent at the centre is a fantastic investment in the future.

“When the children return to their own school, they can work, learn and play in both languages and, in doing so, fit into school life effortlessly, confidently and happily.”