Appreciative analysis of linguistic attitudes in a multilingual school context in Vitoria-Gasteiz

Abstract

Over the last 40 years, very good results have been achieved in terms of the evolution of the percentage of Basque speakers amongst younger generations in the Basque Autonomous Region. However, the growth of the knowledge of Basque has not increased this language’s use and, even more unfortunately, in the educational achievement results of the last decade, there has been an undeniable decline in such indicators as Basque language competence. Using the same simile applied to the revitalisation of Basque, it may be said that the “D” or linguistic immersion model stands at a crossroads. Accordingly, in this study we aim to identify positive aspects of the linguistic attitudes of people from two schools of Vitoria-Gasteiz which are set in a markedly Spanish-speaking context. Students, family members, teachers and leisure educators show good attitudes, both quantitatively and qualitatively, towards Basque, Spanish and English, as well as other languages in these school communities. Consequently, faced with the downward evolution of the general data and the pessimism of the latest claims, and using appreciative inquiry to guide this study, these two schools have shown that, in school contexts where diversity exists, attitudes can indeed be built in favor of Basque, even if the use and presence of this language is very limited. Although certain challenges and elements to be analysed in greater depth have been identified, this article provides supporting evidence to educational communities seeking to revitalise Basque in contexts of diversity.