Scottish Gaelic is a Celtic language native to Scotland and is a member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages.The 2001 UK Census showed that over 90,000 people in Scotland had ability in Gaelic.
Gaelic Medium Education has been available in Glasgow and Inverness since 1985 and has grown in the last 25 years.
The first Gaelic school is Sgoil Ghàidhlig Ghlaschu (Glasgow Gaelic School), which now caters for pupils aged three to eighteen.
Bun-sgoil Ghàidhlig Inbhir Nis (Inverness Gaelic Primary School) was opened in Highland Council area in 2007 and is so popular that a further 2 classroom extension was added in 2010.
Misconceptions
In this video misconceptions about Gaelic and bilingualism, in general, are debunked. Joanna McPake is clear that there is no impedement to cognition for bilingual children and that this was disproved in the sixties. Antonella Sorace agrees that children do not exhibit confusion between their two languages and that even small infants can distinguish between them. From professional and personal perspective, Anne MacDermaid and Fiona Dunn explain that the early years are the most productive time for language learning and that any doubt is expelled when you see confident children, capable in two languages. In an international context, Joanna McPake observes that the world’s majority is bilingual and more; something that is completely natural in many cultures.
