It is widely acknowledged that minority language survival is not possible unless it is supported at school, in the home, and in the wider community. For second language pupils in particular, accessing a minority language as an academic subject alone does little to support their confidence and/or ability to use the language, in the academic or in the non-academic domain, nor does it help pupils identify and relate with that language, which is a prerequisite to becoming motivated to learn (Ushioda, 2006). If Welsh Government is to achieve its aim of creating a million Welsh speakers by 2050, pupils need more than to be just taught Welsh; they need to understand its purpose, how it relates to them, and what it means to be a bilingual speaker.
This study explored the extent to which L2 Welsh-speaking pupils attending English-medium schools identified as bilingual. 129 12- to 13-year-old pupils attending English-medium secondary schools in Wales completed a questionnaire, along with 290 pupils attending Welsh-medium and 99 pupils attending bilingual schools as comparison. Despite pupils from English-medium schools reporting that they (i) receive and enjoy Welsh lessons at school, (ii) hear Welsh being used outside the Welsh lesson, and (iii) use it a little outside of the classroom themselves, only 16% of the respondents attending English-medium schools identified as bilinguals. In contrast, the majority of similar pupils (those from non-Welsh-speaking backgrounds) attending Welsh-medium or bilingual schools did. These findings are further explored in relation to internal and external factors that may influence bilingual apathy in pupils, and the implications of these findings, particularly within the context of the New Curriculum for Wales, are discussed.