Olatz Egiguren, member of Sortzen Elkartea; Eulalia Buch, head of the social department of the Platform for the Catalan Language, and Oriol Amorós, head of the Secretary for Migration, Equality and Citizenship of the Generalitat, answered these questions. The round table was organised by Sortzen Elkartea at the Euskaltzaindia headquarters in Bilbao on 26 February.

The Catalan immersion model (all subjects in Catalan, except Spanish and another foreign language) was applied for the first time in 1983 in nineteen public schools in the city of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Barcelona. As Oriol Amorós explained, after the Franco regime great steps were taken in favour of Catalan. In this process, the labor movement of Castilian speaking origin played an important role. They wanted to educate their sons and daughters in Catalan, and the pressure exerted led them to create a model of immersion.

As a result of the results obtained, it was applied in more than 700 schools in Catalonia in the next six years and has been the only model that Catalan public education has had since 1992. To this end, the Generalitat has legally established the following measures: The Language Normalization Act 1983, the Language Policy Act 1998 and the Education Act of Catalonia 2009.

Social cohesion instrument

The immersion model is not a “system of the other world”, but a method of learning the second language, according to Amorós. Catalonia has experienced a second important migration process in the twenty-first century, in which people from different backgrounds who had not previously had contact with Catalan have gathered. To this end, it has considered it essential to create a methodology that allows the learning of Catalan and the use of Euskera.

In some countries that have experienced similar situations, they have built models based on multiculturalism, respecting diversity and creating ghettos. Amoros says that behind this “presumed respect” there is nothing but “indifference”: “The Pakistanis will live in the Pakistani neighborhood, the Indians in the Indians, the Chinese in the Chinese. In Catalonia we do not want that, but an intercultural model”. To this end, Catalan should be, in his opinion, the common language of all those living in Catalonia: “Catalan will be the language we will use to understand ourselves, whatever the origin and mother tongue.”

The Platform for La Llengua has also defended this idea. For others, however, it is debatable. In fact, there are those who have asked why Catalan and not Spanish should be the language they have in common. “The world is better if there are 5,000 languages, and it must be given the importance of keeping all those languages alive. If Catalan is not a common language in Catalonia, where will it be?” said Amorós.

In this sense, Eulalia Buch has stressed that the immersion model is a successful tool for social cohesion, “which allows uniting all students, even if it is not the Catalan language they use at home”. He has also said that he prepares them for training in the world of work, “he guarantees equal opportunities, we are all an important part of society, without any discrimination”.

According to studies by the Plataforma per la Llengua, the system benefits all students and, once compulsory education is completed, students know both languages. Moreover, it facilitates the learning of other languages because, according to some experts, bilingualism develops perceptive skills.

Immersion in risk model

Although academic results and social research show that the system is a success and has the support of several European institutions beyond Catalonia, several Spanish political parties have been against it on several occasions. In 2012, then Minister of Education, José Ignacio Wert, said that Catalan children had to “Spanish”. At present, the Government of Madrid has launched Article 155 of the Constitution with the aim of changing the linguistic priority. In particular, it is about offering the possibility of prioritizing Spanish when registering for the enrollment of the educational immersion system.

They argue that the immersion model reduces the students' linguistic ability to speak in Spanish. The investigations carried out by the Generalitat, the Plataforma per la Llengua and other associations at the state level have denied this. Buch explained that “in addition to the hours taught in schools, the Catalan context allows learning in Spanish. According to the studies, students easily dominate Catalan and Spanish”.

For Amorós, therefore, the problem is not the model, but the language. As he explained, the Catalan language is alive in four communities of the Spanish State: Catalonia, Balearic Islands, Valencia and Aragon. In his opinion, the position of pp and citizens "varies" according to the political strength they have in each autonomous community. In any case, he says that they have a point of consistency: “They do all the pain they can, whenever they can, and with the greatest possible intensity against Catalan.”

The trend towards recentralization has therefore jeopardized the school model that Catalonia has built in these years. According to the Sortzen Association, what happens there can also have consequences in the Basque Country. Therefore, he believes that “initiatives based on the exchange of reflections and broad consensus in favor of language and culture will be essential tools”, both in Euskal Herria and in Catalonia.

The Basque public school at a key moment

Olatz Egiguren explained that the Basque Government has put on the table the process of achieving an educational agreement and a base document. One of the bases of the agreement is that, taking as its axis the Basque culture and the Basque culture, it will guarantee “advanced capacity” in the two official languages and an average level in the foreign language, “regardless of the starting point of all the students, in order to achieve personal, academic and professional development”. However, this document does not provide for overcoming the model system.

In this sense, he believed that the system of linguistic models implemented in the education of the Basque Autonomous Community "has failed", since "it leaves too many young people without Euskaldunize". In any case, he explained that, in addition to the school, the responsibility of the community and society is fundamental to “gain new spaces for the Basque people in towns and neighborhoods”.

In Navarre, the foral parliament has also set up a committee that can amend the Law of the Vascuence in Navarre. In fact, the current law allows for zoning and the division of rights. The Navarre Parliament has taken the first step towards this being amended in the Foral Chamber.

Therefore, Sortzen believes that Hego Euskal Herria may be at an important time to facilitate the normalization of the Basque Country if he is able to speak of “will and determination” to take advantage of some of the opportunities that are opening up. The association has emphasized the need for a model that educates Euskaldun and multilingual students, since “how can we understand the wealth that is internalized in diversity if it is not from our own identity and language?”