Catalan in schools – reasons behind language immersion and why it’s in jeopardy
Catalonia has had an educational policy of linguistic immersion for over 30 years. In other words, teaching in schools is done through Catalan. Gerard Escaich Folch and Guifré Jordan join Lorcan Doherty to explain how the system works, the rationale behind it, and why it could now be in jeopardy. We get the opinions of Ana Losada, spokesperson for School for Everyone and head of the Assembly for Bilingual Schooling; Albert Bayot Fuertes, the Girona representative of the Catalan Graduate Teachers Association; and Anna Rosés, a Catalan teacher at Escola Pia Sarrià-Calassanç in Barcelona. This week's Catalan phrase is 'fer escola'. Literally 'to do or make school', it means to have disciples, followers or imitators.