Calon Tysul has launched an exciting and innovative project to improve Welsh language skills on the pool side across Wales.
Staff who work in the learn to swim sector will soon be able to attend a variety of online and face-to-face courses to improve their linguistic skills.
Thanks to support from the LEADER Cynnal y Cardi grant plan and Ceredigion County Council’s Youth Service department, Calon Tysul is currently creating pilot courses that will be of great help to swimming teachers who want to gain a little more confidence in the Welsh language or who want to know how to teach swimming lessons effectively bilingually.
Project manager, Matt Adams, says, “although thousands of families across Wales speak Welsh as their main language, access to Welsh-medium swimming lessons has not been very easy for all families. We are fortunate in Llandysul to be able to provide our entire learn to swim programme in Welsh, but those opportunities are few and far between in other swimming pools.
“These courses will help swimming providers improve the Welsh language skills of their workforce by giving them additional swim-specific training based on what we’ve learnt as the main provider of Welsh-medium swimming lessons in south Wales.”
Iestyn ap Dafydd, the project’s linguistic consultant, said. “We are currently creating learning resources for ‘micro’ lessons on platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat. These would be for anyone that wants to be able to learn a few Welsh words or terms for teaching swimming.
“We’re also planning a residential pilot course to take place in March in Llandysul and this is for people who already speak the language but who want to improve their confidence in using their Welsh when teaching children swimming. The course could also be useful for Welsh-medium primary teachers who would like to become more familiar with Welsh swimming terminology.”
The LEADER plan is funded through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
Go to: https://calontysul.cymru/datblygu-sgiliau-cymraeg-athrawon-nofio for more information regarding the programme.