The cluster has carried out for three years an experimental research in five sports clubs in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, in collaboration with researchers from the UPV/EHU, Urtxintxa and Euskaltzaleen Topagunea.

One of the conclusions of the project is the "need to work sport as a specific space", as explained by the authors of the study: "In the sports field it is possible to complete and enrich the basis that young people receive for the knowledge and use of Euskera in school, but for this it is important not to repeat the school model as such, but to adapt it".

According to them, "creating the right conditions for young coaches and athletes to be able to use Euskera more is a priority task for adults. The leaders of the clubs have the opportunity to set criteria and create an environment in which the sports team is a protected space for the use of the Basque Country". On the other hand, the sports team is "a field of special relevance" in the lives of younger players, and in this collective experience "there are good opportunities to work together and achieve new goals and challenges from the point of view of the use of the Basque Country".

The five participating clubs are: In Álava, Zaramaga Pilota Elkartea (Vitoria-Gasteiz), in Bizkaia Aixerrota Boleibol Taldea (Getxo) and Padura Saskibaloi Kluba (Arrigorriaga), and in Gipuzkoa the Real Sociedad Club de Fútbol (Donostia-San Zarautz) and

Referent trainers

At the presentation ceremony, anthropology researchers Jone Miren Hernández and Jaime Altuna (UPV/EHU) and the member of the Cluster of Sociolinguistics Pablo Suberbiola have explained the subjects taught by the project.

One area that has been worked on experimentally in the project is group communication. "Having good communication between players is a great advantage when it comes to obtaining sports results. In addition, it makes it possible to reinforce the character and identity of the group".

To promote the use of Euskera, they say that "an appropriate environment is needed, an environment that puts the use of Euskera into value", and that this creation is the primary task of those responsible for clubs and parents. "The connection between them and players, on the other hand, is made by coaches. For younger players, their coaches are very important referents and are of great importance when it comes to being able to use the Basque language more. In the clubs analyzed in the project, it has been observed that the performance in Basque of the coaches helps younger players to speak more in Basque. In their practice in Basque, coaches often use the flexibility that is not used in school at certain times, achieving greater closeness and confidence with younger people".

On the other hand, following the keys identified in the project, "there are possibilities to give continuity to the work carried out by the school in the sports field, but it is important to rethink how this work should be done, without repeating the school model as it has been done". In this sense, the authors of the study believe that there are possibilities to enhance sport as a "third area", thus establishing a relationship between linguistic habits and the street in school. "This would allow us to continue the efforts that many children have made at school and to practically increase their right to use Euskera from the point of view of linguistic equality".

>> Summary of the research action project "Sport model D" (PDF)