Linguistic Project of the Center
It is the reference document for the center regarding the treatment of languages used and the use of Catalan as the vehicular language of teaching/learning and as the language of communication among all members of the educational community.
Introduction
The linguistic project of EAD Tarragona follows the current legal framework: Statute of Catalonia, Law of Education of Catalonia, and Language Policy Law. It is the reference document for the center regarding the treatment of languages used and the use of Catalan as the vehicular language of teaching/learning and as the language of communication among all members of the educational community.
The PLC enables the center to manage the process of using Catalan as a vehicular language and for teaching/learning, to articulate aspects related to the treatment of curricular languages, and, at the same time, to make the Catalan language an instrument of social cohesion within a multilingual framework.
Regarding the specific legal framework for linguistic regime, this PLC conforms to what is established in Articles 10, 11, and 12 of Law 12/2009, of July 10, on education. DOGC No. 5422 – 16/07/09 Title II. The Linguistic Regime of the Educational System of Catalonia. These articles establish the right and duty to know the official languages, that Catalan is the vehicular and learning language, the linguistic competence of teachers and educational professionals, and administrative and service staff, the use and promotion of Catalan.
Sociolinguistic Context
The current linguistic situation of our center, regarding students, reveals that the use of Catalan as a priority language is minority. About 30% of students use Catalan as their first language in their daily lives. The rest use Spanish as their first language, and of these, most also know and use Catalan in certain contexts.
Our students, at this post-compulsory educational stage, have already received, at minimum, primary and/or secondary education in Catalan. Regarding newly arrived students, in our center, they represent a very minor percentage that has almost never needed linguistic support measures. Nonetheless, this project foresees actions in these cases.
As for the teaching staff, the accreditation of the C1 level from the Permanent Catalan Board is an essential requirement for holding the position. 86% of the teaching staff has the C1 level, 11% has the D level, and 3% has the C2 level.
Regarding administrative and service staff, 40% has the D level, 50% has the C level, and 20% has the B level.
Catalan as the Vehicular and Learning Language
Catalan, as the native language of Catalonia, is the language normally used as the vehicular and learning language of the school: oral and written activities, teacher presentations, physical and virtual teaching materials, learning and evaluation activities, reports, and communications.
It is the usual vehicle of expression in staff meetings, school council meetings, and in general acts of the educational community of the center.
Likewise, Catalan is the language normally used in internal activities (events, communications, reports, ...) and in relations with public corporations of Catalonia, institutions, and with companies that the center interacts with.
Catalan is also used in communications and notifications addressed to individuals or legal entities residing in the Catalan-speaking area, without prejudice to the right of citizens to receive them in Spanish, if requested. In this latter case, copies or documents are made in Spanish as needed.
Educational Uses of Catalan and Spanish
The center ensures that students, in addition to using Catalan and Spanish correctly, also use the basic technical language resources specific to the professional and artistic disciplines of our teachings.
All students can use Catalan and Spanish interchangeably in academic and evaluable activities throughout their school life at our center.
EAD Tarragona avoids the use of sexist language. In the center's basic documents, the criteria for using non-sexist language are taken into account. The teaching staff, administrative and service staff, management, and the entire educational community work to overcome all kinds of stereotypes and to facilitate a critical attitude towards content that degrades individuals for reasons of sex or associates them with stereotypical images.
Newly Arrived Students
Catalan is the normal language of use in the reception of newly arrived students.
Newly arrived students who do not have knowledge of Catalan, upon integrating into the classroom, receive individualized curricular attention. The center will adapt to the personal characteristics of these students, conducting learning in Catalan but adapting objectives and content, and always ensuring that comprehension is correct. If possible, specific support outside the classroom will also be provided.
In the case of newly arrived students who speak only one foreign language, the center plans to provide an adaptation period during the first weeks, monitoring their integration into the center. When this situation arises, their tutor communicates the case to the teaching team to establish adaptations, such as providing extra time for exams (with translated versions of the questions), reserving front-row seats in the classroom, repeating instructions for exercises, etc. These measures for diversity management are coordinated in two areas: teaching team coordination meetings and evaluation sessions.
Criteria for Learning English
The needs of a job market integrated into the European Union make the English language fundamental for the employment insertion of students in vocational training cycles.
To incorporate and normalize the use of the English language in regular professional situations and decision-making in the labor field, the center, through various modules and in each higher vocational training cycle, plans to design teaching and learning activities that incorporate the use of the English language.
These activities often involve the viewing of audiovisual material in English followed by commentary and/or related research work, learning technical vocabulary primarily used in the context of new technologies that have not yet received a consensus technical translation, reading texts (interviews with professionals, foreign magazines, theoretical and technical articles) in English, and a subsequent test demonstrating comprehension applied to specialty projects.