Pupils get to secondary and think 'why am I learning Gaelic?'

Dr Birnie, who is originally from the Netherlands and learned the language fluently, said a major problem in GME is children  "don't know why they do it".

She said a major focus in early years and primary education in the 19980s had meant secondary was still lagging behind in provision.

The academic said there is also a perception that secondary school subjects and exams will be more difficult which makes some parents wary of continuing it and there was a risk Gaelic had become a "language of education rather than a language for speaking".

Dr Inge Birne says more needs to be done to promote Gaelic rather than bilingualism (Image: Newsquest)

The latest available data from Bòrd na Gàidhlig shows there were 3886 GME primary  pupils across Scotland and 1651 in secondary, a  near 60% drop-off and a pattern that is recognised by those in the sector.

"I think a big problem is that children don't know why they do Gaelic," said Dr Birnie, who is a senior lecturer in education at the University of Strathclyde.

"Their parents send them and they accept it - we don't explain the importance of Gaelic.

'Children don't know why they are doing it' (Image: From public)

"We are very good at selling GME at primary. We tell people the benefits of bilingualism but actually we are not quite good at saying why it should be Gaelic.

"If you look at all the Bòrd na Gàidhlig promotion it's very much focussed on bilingualism and the benefits and not why Gaelic matters. 

"That is a much harder sell to parents." she said. 

"The curriculum for English medium and Gaelic medium is exactly the same so young people don't see Gaelic medium as a separate entity. It's English translated into Gaelic so they don't see the point. 

"We are very bad at this in Scotland, it's an image problem," she added. "You don't see this in Wales - it's partially politicised.

"The funding for GME came from a conservative government, the Gaelic language bill was cross-party - it's hugely complicated.

"Halloween is a Celtic festival but we celebrate it like the Americans do. We don't explain to young people what's special about Gaelic."

She believes that learning Gaelic helps foster a sense of inclusivity in young people.

"It allows young people to gain an understanding of what makes Scotland and what has shaped Scotland in  the past.

"I don't want to promote in any way separatism but if young people are "secure" in who they are, where they are from and confident about their own culture, they tend to be more open and responsive to otherness."

Dr Inge Birnie's research centres on the learning and teaching of minority languages and their promotion outside of the education system, with a particular focus on Gaelic. Prior to her current role, she worked as a teacher and educator in both English and Gaelic medium settings, ranging from the early-years to secondary education. She is the Rapporteur for the UNESCO International Decade of Indigenous Languages Ad-hoc Group 1 which looks at the provision of education and domains for Indigenous languages.

As of May 2024, there are at least 62 primary schools and 29 secondaries that offer Scottish Gaelic-medium education (GME) although provision varies.

Dr Birnie described the problem of teaching shortages in secondary GME as a "catch 22 situation".

"There aren't the teachers, so there isn't the provision or the demand so there aren't SQA exams," she said.

The academic moved to Scotland in 1998 to study physics and then taught science, becoming a head of department. She decided to learn Gaelic as a hobby and was the first person to complete a degree at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye through distance learning.

The family live in Moray and while her son went to a GME primary he is now in a secondary where the only option is to take Gaelic as a subject ( the nearest secondary with greater provision was further away).

Gaelic has become a 'language of education rather than a language for speaking' (Image: Martini archive)

"He said he was going to drop Gaelic [as a subject] which is gut-wrenching for me but part of it is 'what can I do with it?'. He wants to be a geography teachers and thinks 'I don't need Gaelic.'

"Ideologies and perceptions are a big part of this - what can young people do with Gaelic when they leave school?"

She says there is a perception that it is more difficult to learn certain subjects in Gaelic.

"Secondary school is about exams and passing exams and sending young people on for further study and careers and I think that sometimes there is a feeling of 'do we add an extra complication?' in doing this through the medium of Gaelic," she said.

"I think parents are a bit more wary.

"Then of course when it comes to exams, especially Highers that perception really matters because it might be seen as an extra complication.

"It's about saying it's not any harder - it's in a different language - but it's not any harder than doing it in English. It's a mindset.

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"The perception is that you can become a Gaelic teacher, work in the media or in language organisations. You can't become a vet, or a mechanic or a hairdresser through the medium of Gaelic - those courses don't exist.

"The choices after school are very limited, if the Gaelic industries aren't what you are interested in. It is very much linked to the notion that Gaelic is a language of education rather than for speaking".

Research shows around 20% of adults that attended GME continued using Gaelic in their adult life although Dr Birne says "many come back to it" in later years.  

Jennifer McHarrie, a director at  Bòrd na Gàidhlig which publishes the statutory guidelines for GME, said a lot of work was being done to promote the career opportunities GME could lead to "other than teaching".

She said: "We try to listen to young people and their perceptions of using Gaelic and where it can taken them after school.

"What we are trying to say is that you can you use your Gaelic in a huge variety of settings.

"Early education and childcare is one that would jump out at me. It doesn't just begin at primary or secondary.

"[There is also] Digital media and working with heritage organisation. I know bodies like Historic Environment Scotland (HES), they were working on a skills plan. Areas like hospitality.

"It's maybe trying to see that the job description doesn't always say Gaelic in it but if you have that something else that you can bring as an advantage," she added.

"Working in health and social care as well. We hear a lot of times people that perhaps work in care homes or with older people with dementia - they can maybe revert to their native tongue. "

She said secondary provision of GME varied significantly across the country and could partially explain the drop-off in uptake.

The Gaelic College in Skye: Sabhal Mor Ostaig (Image: Martini archive) Asked if there was too much focus on the bilingualism over the value of Gaelic she said: "I think schools have different approaches but there is a place for both to be put together.

"There are some newer local authorities that have come on board and we've been working with them to spread information about GME.

"There are a lot of myths and misconceptions, for example do they follow the same curriculum so we've been giving a lot of information sessions to parents."

Glasgow Gaelic School is the only fully immersive GME secondary school in Scotland and as the city's best performing state school interest from parents is always high.

Jean Miller who heads up education services for Glasgow City Council said numbers for the primary had been lower than expected this year.

She said: "We had increased the cap to 150 but we we haven't met that number, we've actually settled at 111, which is quite significantly less.

Gillian Campbell-Thow, headteacher of Glasgow Gaelic School and pupils (Image: GT) "Some have decided to stick with their English medium catchment, there's quite a few who have gone off to private schools and a few have gone out of authorities so it's quite a mixed picture.

"It wasn't what we were anticipating.

"I took over the Gaelic remit last year and some of the head teachers expressed concern that people didn't know enough about what GME involved so we changed that and put up quite a bit more information. 

"Are people applying because they see attainment outcomes without fully understanding what it means. We wanted to be a bit more explicit about what people are signing up for. Whether it's that, it's hard to tell."