To send DS to Welsh School?

Speaking more than one language is so good for the brain. I’d definitely send him if I had the chance (if I lived in Wales!)

It doesn’t matter which languages it is, it’s still great for them. Plus they’ve got English as a very widely spoken language when they go abroad, they don’t need their second language to be. It will also make it easier for them to learn any third language when they are older, regardless of the language family.

Hello there!
Sorry to jump on this post but I'm about to move to Cardiff (non-Welsh speaker) and looking to start my little one at in a WM primary from September.
Does anyone know anything about Ysgol Hamadryad or Ysgol Pwll Coch? Or Treganna?
I would really appreciate any comments/experience of schools in Cardiff Central and Bay area. I am a single parent so makes decision making doubly hard for me as I constantly doubt myself! X

"Welsh language is very politicised in Wales and the view one gets from SLT may reflect their commitment to the welsh language or their fear of speaking an honest opinion if they do think it would be disadvantageous."

Equally, an expert who expresses a negative opinion about Welsh medium schools may be displaying a personal prejudice against the language.

Why wouldn't they live in Wales when they're older???
Presumably the family lives in Wales now.

By the way, I'm a Welsh person living abroad. Being a Welsh speaker has helped me learn other languages and is still useful even not living in Wales.

Hi, i went to school in wales i am aware of the mutation i am just lazy with grammer, in both welsh and english no offense meant. Quite right it is this attitude that makes people feel isolated when it comes to first language snobbery esspecially in Ceredigion right now

Ah, this is an example of the snobbery that puts people off speaking and learning Welsh… da iawn! Keep up the good work

I won't begin to correct your English, @Brightongin .

“Wasn't correct or necessary??’ Wtf- are you going to police and give blessing or correction on every Welsh phrase used and judge if it is necessary??
I thought it was a lovely use of Cymraeg.
I am a Welsh tutor, linguistics graduate and first language Welsh, and I ask politely- could you please stop policing people’s creative and lovely use of Welsh, please? You are neither their tutor or parent, this is a casual forum and I thought it was a great example of how people use language in the real world. I am so tired of meeting people that say ‘Oo- I’d love to speak Welsh but I’m too afraid to use the little I have as it’s not good enough/ up to standard or pure enough’ because people like you immediately judge whether it is ‘correct’ - I actually can’t believe you thought it was ‘unnecessary’ like who are you to deem what language is NECESSARY. If language was judged in terms of necessity- Welsh wouldn’t get a look in at all.

@Brightongin , the correction was because the use of Welsh in that post wasn't correct or necessary.

If you are learning a language, you will almost certainly get corrected, or how will you learn?

The mutations aren't easy to learn, and I would probably not corrected you in conversation, unless you asked me to. I hear a lot of bad Welsh, including from teachers (usually grammar not vocabulary). Just practice and if you don't know the word, use a substitute and carry on. If you mess up a mutation, keep going - if you get your message across, that's the main thing.

My Welsh is strong because, back in the day, my parents and teachers corrected me.

Da iawn chi am ddysgu Cymraeg. Daliwch ati!

Dacwmam, I'm sure you meant well, but it's correcting like that that puts people off learning Welsh sometimes. Effing treiglio is the bane of my life - and can stop people from using the Welsh that they have.

@Iawn , it's ysgol gymraeg.
Pick the school that you suits your child best. You know him better than anyone.

How have you found it? My child is due to start ysgol cymraeg in jan and has a similar speech delay and im considering moving to english medium

My nephew is due to start WM in September. He has a speech delay but was discharged from SALT. I’ve never doubted my sisters choice for WM. The school is much smaller and nurturing that the local English medium schools which I think will be far more beneficial to him and outweigh any concerns. I’m sure he will be absolutely fine as will your son be.
worst case, he doesn’t settle/ develop well and you make a decision to move him later down the line. Which I’m sure would be exactly the same if he didn’t get on in an English medium school for whatever reason

I'm glad you've decide to send him to the WM,

He's not even three yet, lots of toddlers get help with their speech, it doesn't need to impact their life choices going forward.

As you know, being bilingual has many more advantages than simply speaking two languages.

I've seen this worth the opposite way, welsh 1st language speaker who spoke purely welsh at home and nursery with speech delay having to learn english at school. If I recall he was a little slower to pick it up than some of the other children (who may also have been exposed to english at home) but by the end of primary school there was no real difference

There are many advantages to being bilingual that go way beyond the practical. It opens up a whole world of arts, culture and literature for a start, so it can expand someone's horizons and enrich their life and experiences in many ways. It's also a connection to someone's heritage and history.

Also, it doesn't matter where they might hypothetically live when they are older. Maybe they will, indeed, choose to live outside Wales where they have no need to speak Welsh. But they will always have an option to move back if they want to and Welsh will open up more opportunities in some jobs.

Having more than one language is never going to be a disadvantage in life, basically.

Much to the dismay of my parents (I'm never very sure why), our dc went to Scottish Gaelic medium school. Ds was a little slow to start speaking (not enough for salt) and my parents were really outspoken about it. They're the same about my nephews who live in wales and have a native speaker mum. I think it's because they know nothing about it, and my step-mum was a learning support teacher.

All 3 of our dc went through the GME system and even now (they're 18, 20 and 22) it's important to them. There are so many positives about being bilingual and so few negatives. Please give your dc this opportunity if you can!

(P.S. I still don't speak Gaelic!)

It’s obvious you know nothing about language development or Wales.
Learning another language at a young age has lots of benefits beyond just knowing the second language; better vocabulary, attention and listening, reasoning skills. Bilingual children tend to have better outcomes all through their lives.
On top of that, Welsh is an advantage for most Welsh jobs and a necessity for some.

BTW the only time it came in was when he had the first assessment the woman was getting confused over how he was pronouncing the word 'blue' - when I said 'he's saying 'Glas'' she stopped the assessment and said she needed to get someone who was bilingual to do the assessment

My kids went to Welsh medium schools and one of them also had speech therapy when he was about your sons age

It doesn't seem to have held him back at all - he's awaiting his A level results (done in Welsh) and plans on studying biochemistry at uni

Neither his father or I speak Welsh fluently

@NottheLot , no, not everybody. There are young children who will have spoken nothing but Welsh, and there are older people who have not needed to speak much English throughout their lives. Elderly people who have suffered a stroke or similar will struggle when dealing with someone with no Welsh, which can be an issue in hospitals or EMI care.

An ability to speak two or more languages from an early age is beneficial if you learn new languages.

If they’re Welsh they presumably have a good chance of living in wales when older. Many many public sector jobs in wales now require or show a strong preference for welsh speakers.
I am guessing you don’t realise how prevalent it is in parts of wales. The Op’s child will seriously miss out!