For centuries, the Spanish education system has been almost entirely monolingual (Pradilla,
2001). It was only in 1978 that the Spanish government granted regional languages the ‘coofficial’
status alongside Spanish as the only official language (Cenoz, 2009; Gardner, 2000,
2005; Lasagabaster, 2001; Parsons, 2015). This meant that these regional languages could be
part of the education system not only as subjects but also as languages of instruction together
with Spanish in their respective regions. Unlike in many countries like South Africa where
plans to introduce formally marginalized languages as languages of tuition are yet to be
implemented, the Spanish government has managed to turn its plans into reality. Today in the
Spanish education system, ‘co-official’ languages are used at varying degrees. In some
schools these languages are even used as the only languages of teaching and learning.
The need to provide access to education also in regional languages has been fought for and
supported by many in Spain despite the fact that many Spaniards, if not all, are fluent in
Spanish (i.e. they can easily/successfully access education in Spanish). This then raises the
question almost four decades later: why is it important for learners in the different regions to
access their education at least partially in the language spoken in that specific region – their
home language - when learning through Spanish is not a problem?
Research has proven that multi/bilingual education has better outcomes in bilingual students
than monolingual education. Research also favours mother-tongue education over
multi/bilingual education. It is important to understand the advantages/benefits (or lack
thereof) of accessing information in Basque for Basque home language learners. This does
not only help make the Spanish education system better but also inform policy makers in
countries like South Africa about the importance of implementing bilingual policies.
The current study investigates the progress that Basque, one of the formally marginalized
regional languages, has had in the Spanish education system since its (re)introduction. It
looks at the development of Basque as a medium of instruction; how and when it is used and
its overall impact on Basque home language learners.
