Education and change: the linguistic and cultural practices of teenagers in Catalonia

Vanessa BretxaCUSC- University Center of Sociolinguistics and CommunicationUniversity of Barcelona

RESOL: A longitudinal project (2006-2015)• RESOL- Resocialization and languages : the linguistic

effects from primary to secondary education in multilingual contexts.

• Funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

• Research team: F.Xavier Vila (UB) (PI), Llorenç Comajoan (UVic), Joan Melià (UIB), Vanessa Bretxa (UB), Natxo Sorolla (UB) and Cristina Illamola(UB).

• Main goal: To study the transition from primary to secondary education and its impact in sociolinguistic practices.

Starting point of the project• The assessment (success or failure) of bilingual education

in Catalonia is a complex matter.• Knowledge of Catalan among young people and teenagers

has increased significantly compared with previous generations (Torres et al. 2005, EULP, 2008).

• Knowledge of Catalan by youth has not necessarily had a consequence in their use of Catalan (Galindo and Vila 2009).

• Some authors have attempted to explain part of this process by examining the transition from childhood to youth (Vila 2010; Pujolar et al. 2010).

• Question: Is there a change in the use of Catalan between primary and secondary education?

The complexity of language practice (Vila 2004, 2010)

• Language competence refers to the individual’s ability to use one language

• Language use refers to how individuals put their linguistic competence into practice in interaction with other individuals

• Linguistic representations (or ideology) are related to attitudes, values, and ideas that speakers have about language

• Linguistic system refers to the purely linguistic items that make up a language and that are the object of study of formal linguistics

System (Corpus)

Use (Practice)

Representacions Competence (Ideologies) (Acquisition)

Dimensions of study and data instruments

Language use• Family Language

(L1, parents, siblings).

• Language of Cultural Consumption (TV, music, books, Internet)

• Language of social network

• Language of School

Language competence(declared and observed)• Catalan• Spanish

Linguistic ideologiesBeliefs and identifications• Linguistic self

confidence• Attitudes

towards Catalan and Spanish

• Ethnicity

Technique: Sociolinguistic questionnaire

Technique: Video-recorded linguistic competence assessment

Technique: Focus groups and Sociolinguistic questionnaire

The RESOL project (2006-2015)• Focus on longitudinal data: Same sample and

instrument▫ 6P (age 12): Last year of primary education

(2007)▫ 1S (age 13): First year of secondary education

(2008)▫ 4S (age 16): Last year of secondary education (2011)▫ 2B(age 18): Last year of post-secondary (2013)

• Number of participants: 1194 (6th-1st – 4th)

• Catalan-speaking areas under study: ▫ Catalonia (Manlleu, Mataró, Sant Joan Despí, Sant

Just Desvern, Balaguer)▫ Aragon (La Franja)▫ Mallorca (Palma, Inca)

Case study: Mataró (6P to 1S)- City in the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.

- 8th largest city in Catalonia

- Population: 119.858 hab. (2008)

- 15,6% immigrants (2008)

- 35 schoolsN: 888Sex: 49,1% boys and 50,9% girlsOrigin : 86,6% born in Catalonia and 13,6% born abroad.

First Language (L1)“What language did you first speak at home when you were a

child?”

Primary (6P) Secondary (1S) Catalonia

31.9 31.8 31.7

18.5 17.23.8

40.2 41.955

9.4 9.2 9.3

Catalan Catalan & SpanishSpanish Other Language

Source: EULP 2008Source: RESOL 2007- 2008

Proficiency in Catalan and Spanish (6P)

Understanding Speaking Reading Writing

9.3 9.0 9.08.4

9.5 9.3 9.38.8

Catalan Sapanish

Source: RESOL 2007

Language inside the classroom (6P)

Students > Teachers Teachers >Students

68.4 75.6

28.722.7

2.7 1.8Catalan Catalan & Spanish Spanish

Differences in language inside the classroom 6P to 1S

Students > Teachers Teachers >Students

-8.9 -9.2

7.38.9

1.50.2

Catalan Catalan & Spanish Spanish

Linguistic cultural consumption (6P)

TV Books Music Internet

25

48.2

1.417.9

71.740.1

45.2

59.2

2.55.2

50.1

11.6

0 6.5 3.2 11.3

Catalan Spanish English Non-users

Differences between cultural consumption 6P to 1S

TV Books Music Internet

-12.1 -12.7

-0.1 -1.9

15

7.7

-14.6

12.9

-0.1-2.5

13.9

3.20.3

-6.3

0

6.2

Catalan Spanish English Users

Language with friends (6P and SP)

Primary (6P) Secondary (1S)

33.6 32

17.9 15.2

46.5 50.8

2 2

Catalan Catalan &SpanishSpanish Other languages

Differences in language with friends (from 6P to 1S)

Catalan Catalan & Spanish Spanish Other languages

-1.6

-2.7

4.3

0

Conclusions• Is there a change in the use of Catalan between primary

and secondary education?• There are many changes and in different areas • In general there is a decline of Catalan• There are no changes in Spanish and Catalan proficiency• Language inside the classroom:

▫ Catalan is still prevalent in class▫ Increased use of both languages by teachers and students

• Cultural consumption:▫ Decrease of reading books and increased Internet use▫ Decrease in the consumption of TV and books in Catalan▫ Increased in the consumption of TV, Internet and books in

Spanish▫ Increased in the consumption of music in English

• There are more differences between structural uses (mass media and school) than in interpersonal private uses.

Diolch Thank you

Moltes gràcies!

<http://www.ub.edu/cusc>

Vanessa.bretxa@ub.edu

<http://www.ub.edu/cusc/sleducativa/>

Bibliografia• Bretxa i Riera, Vanessa i F. Xavier Vila i Moreno (2012) «Els canvis sociolingüístics

en el pas primària a secundària: el projecte RESOL a Mataró.» Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana 22.

• Vila i Moreno, F. Xavier (ed.). (2012). Posar-hi la base. Usos i aprenentatges lingüístics en el domini català. Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

• Vila i Moreno, F. Xavier. 2011. «La recerca sociolingüística educativa escolar als països de llengua catalana: elements per a un balanç.» Treballs de Sociolingüística Catalana 21.

• Galindo, Mireia i Vila i Moreno, F. Xavier (2009) «Els factors explicatius dels usos lingüístics informals entre l’alumnat català: llengua inicial, xarxes socials, competència i llengua vehicular d’ensenyament». Noves SL. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, invierno del 2009.

• Comajoan, Llorenç  (2009). «Language revitalization in a globalized world: lessons learned from Catalan». A: Transferences. The expression of extra-linguistic processes in the world’s languages. Vic: Eumo Editorial, 269-299.

• Bretxa, Vanessa, Llorenç Comajoan, i Natxo Sorolla (2009) «De les pràctiques monolingües familiars a la identificació bilingüe: el cas dels preadolescents de Mataró i la Franja. » Noves SL hivern. http://www6.gencat.cat/llengcat/noves/hm09hivern/bretxa_comajoan_sorolla1_9.htm

• Bretxa i Riera, Vanessa (2009) «El salt a secundària: els adolescents, consum cultural i llengua.» Zeitschrift für Katalanistik / Revista d’Estudis Catalans 22:171-202. http://www.romanistik.uni-freiburg.de/pusch/zfk/22/11_Bretxa.pdf

Summary• Data about Catalonia

▫Language use L1 habital langauge intergeneracional transmision

▫Linguistic competence• The project: RESOL

▫PANEL data ▫Language use:

home school friends cultural consumption

L1, habitual language and Intergenerational transmission (Catalonia)

31.7 35.6 41.73.8 12 8.555 45.9 42.39.3 6.5 6.8

Catalan Catalan & SpanishSpanish Others languages

Source: EULP 2008

Language competence (Catalonia)

Understand Speaking Reading Writing

94.6

78.3 81.7

61.8

99.9 99.7 97.4 95.6

3226.4 27.9

24.1

CatalanSpanishEnglish

Source: EULP 2008 (Catalonia)

Language media consumption in Catalonia (2011)

TVRad

io

Inter

net

Newsp

aper

sBoo

ksM

usic

Thea

ter

Cinema

0102030405060708090

100

CatalanSapnishEnglish

Source: Fundacc, 2011

Evolution of the position of Catalan in the mass media in Catalonia (2008-2011)

2008 2009 2010 20110

102030405060708090

100

47.6 48.3 48.955.2

27 26.7 29.4 33.125.3 28.6 31.1 33

11.7 12.8 12 15.9

TV Radio Internet Newspapers

Source: Fundacc, 2011

Evolution of the position of Catalan in the cultural consumption in Catalonia (2008-2011)

2008 2009 2010 20110

102030405060708090

100

4.3 3.8 4.5 7.9

46.7 46.7 47.552.3

5.7 5.8 9.1 11.5

23.1 24.4 25.5 26.7

Cinema Theater Music Books

Source: Fundacc, 2011

Some facts about Catalan in the mass media• Catalan language is in a minority position in the Catalan

media landscape• However, in the last 5 years there is a slow but clear

trend towards an increase of relative position of Catalan as opposed to Spanish

• Radio broadcasting is the area where Catalan language exhibits better figures, and has caught up with Spanish in terms of demand/consumption

• Use of Catalan in cinema displays the lowest figures, despite some improvement in the last years.