Areas of Research Interest: Cymraeg 2050

This Cymraeg 2050 Areas of Research Interest (ARI) document sets out the Welsh Government’s current research questions relating to our Welsh language strategy, Cymraeg 2050: A Million Welsh Speakers. Its purpose is to communicate to the research community[1] the types of evidence that will be most valuable in supporting our decisions.

We have ambitious goals for the Welsh language, and this ARI is one of the ways we aim to ensure those ambitions are grounded in robust evidence. We want to work with the research community to explore important or complex questions relating to our language. This includes drawing on a broad range of knowledge and evidence from Wales and beyond. To generate new understanding and more complete answers to key questions, we want to encourage researchers from a variety of disciplines and perspectives to explore these topics. We also want to encourage the use of diverse and innovative research methods. 

The aims of the Cymraeg 2050 ARI are to: 

• facilitate knowledge exchange, helping us to identify past, current, and planned research that could contribute to our understanding of these topics
• promote the policy relevance and impact of research relating to the Welsh language
• support funding applications by enabling researchers to demonstrate alignment between their proposals and Cymraeg 2050 evidence priorities, strengthening the case for policy impact.

Our evidence priorities are wide-ranging, cross-cutting and continuously evolving. The topics outlined in this document are those we’ve identified as important for deepening our understanding and where collaboration with the research community would be particularly valuable. While we already have evidence on many of these topics, its depth and strength varies, and there is a need to continuously strengthen the evidence base. 

The ARI is structured around the three themes of the Cymraeg 2050 strategy. It also includes sections on cross-cutting considerations and research methods. You may notice a strong focus on questions relating to education, reflecting the current importance of ensuring a robust evidence base to inform decisions on implementing the Welsh Language and Education (Wales) Act 2025.

This document is not exhaustive or definitive. Rather, the intention is to stimulate conversations with the research community. It serves as a guide to the areas where further research is most likely to have a positive impact on Cymraeg 2050 and related plans, such as More than just words—our Welsh language plan for health and social care. 

This ARI is not a call for tenders or a funding announcement. Its purpose is to support the design of research—by us and others—that can deliver meaningful policy impact.

We will continuously review the ARI and update it periodically to reflect emerging priorities and developments. We will disseminate the ARI and develop a programme of engagement to work with the research community on our areas of interest.

We welcome engagement relating to our areas of research interest. If you’d like to discuss these, share relevant work, or explore opportunities for collaboration on research, please use the contact form or email us at research.welsh@gov.wales. 

Read the Cymraeg 2050 ARI privacy notice.
 

[1] Including researchers in universities, research companies or other organizations; research commissioners or funders; as well as individuals involved in policy or practice who have an interest in research evidence.

Cymraeg 2050, published in 2017, sets out our long-term approach for the Welsh language. The strategy is structured around three interdependent themes: 

1. Increasing the number of Welsh speakers 

2. Increasing the use of Welsh 

3. Creating favourable conditions—infrastructure and context

Cymraeg 2050 views Welsh language acquisition and use as both a lifelong experience and a lifelong possibility. Language policy and planning are inherently cross-cutting. The three themes span a wide range of policy areas, including the early years, education and training, health, social care, the economy, housing, planning, and community regeneration. This broad scope is reflected in the ARI. 

We published our Cymraeg 2050 Research and Evaluation Framework in 2022. It provides guidance for both the Welsh Government and external audiences on how to assess progress and evaluate the impact of Cymraeg 2050. 

While the ARI and the framework serve different purposes, they are complementary. The ARI sets out current evidence priorities relevant to Cymraeg 2050 that would benefit from engagement and collaboration with the research community. The framework supports this collaboration by offering a detailed discussion of the strategy’s aims and the links between them, as well as the methodological considerations, context, assumptions, risks, and data sources relevant to those undertaking research and evaluation in this area. 

Theme 1: Increasing the number of Welsh speakers

Cymraeg 2050 sets a target to reach one million Welsh speakers by 2050. A key part of achieving this goal is promoting the intergenerational transmission of the language. The strategy also recognises the vital role of the early years and compulsory education sectors in providing opportunities for children and young people to acquire or learn Welsh. Also essential is facilitating opportunities to acquire or further develop Welsh language skills later in life—through post-compulsory education and training, in the workplace, and via other networks. 

Language transmission 

1. How can different forms of intergenerational language transmission be defined and understood, and how do they vary across socio-linguistic, geographical, socio-economic, and demographic contexts, as well as by gender and household type?
2. How can other forms of language transmission—such as through siblings, partners/spouses, extended family, peers or communities—be defined and understood, and how do they vary across socio-linguistic, geographical, socio-economic, and demographic contexts?
3. What factors enable or constrain different forms of language transmission?
4. What approaches are effective in supporting different forms of language transmission?
5. What is the relationship between different forms of language transmission and children’s linguistic outcomes?

The early years

6. What factors affect the supply and use of Welsh-medium childcare and early years education, across various socio-linguistic, geographical, socio-economic, and demographic contexts?
   1. What long-term changes to the supply and use of childcare and early years education have occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic, and what are their implications for Welsh-medium provision?
   2. What type(s) of provision or support do families want from Welsh-medium providers?
   3. What approaches (from the antenatal phase onwards) are effective in increasing use?
7. What approaches could help engage families not using Welsh-medium childcare and early years education, to promote and support their access to Welsh-medium compulsory education?
8. Which early years language immersion approaches lead to the best linguistic outcomes for children learning in a language that is not their home language?

Statutory education

Welsh-medium schools

9. What factors or interventions affect parents/guardians’ decisions on the language medium of their children’s education, across various socio-linguistic, geographical, socio-economic, and demographic contexts?
   1. What factors affect parents/guardians’ decisions on the language medium of education for children with additional learning needs specifically, and how do these factors vary depending on the language(s) spoken at home?
   2. What factors or interventions could increase the percentage of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic learners that start and remain within Welsh-medium education?
10. What factors lead to some children being transferred out of Welsh-medium education at different stages - particularly at the transition from primary to secondary school - across various socio-linguistic, geographical, socio-economic, and demographic contexts?
11. What factors affect parents/guardians and learners’ decisions on taking up late immersion education in Welsh at different stages of compulsory education?
12. What approaches or interventions are effective in increasing learners’ social use of Welsh during the school day?
13. In Welsh-medium schools, how can teaching approaches be adapted based on the proportion of learners who speak Welsh at home, in order to ensure the best outcomes for everyone, across all education stages?

English-medium schools

14. What are the attitudes of learners, parents/guardians and staff in English-medium schools towards the Welsh language and Welsh language education in general[2], across various socio-linguistic, geographical, socio-economic, and demographic contexts?
    1. What are the perceptions of learners in English-medium schools and their parents/guardians of their experiences of Welsh language education in the primary and/or secondary sector?
    2. What approaches or interventions foster positive attitudes?
15. What type and amount of provision is needed when learning an additional language to reach different levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)?
    1. How does this vary by age or education stage, and by socio-linguistic context?
16. Which models for increasing education in an additional language, beyond teaching the language as a subject, have a positive impact on learners’ linguistic outcomes at different education stages?

[2] That is, Welsh as a subject and teaching through the medium of Welsh within English-medium schools

Other 

17. How can Welsh-medium, English-medium, and bilingual schools foster positive emotional connections with the Welsh language among learners at all stages of education, across various socio-linguistic and geographical contexts?
18. In Welsh-medium, English-medium, and bilingual schools, which models, programmes, teaching approaches, and resources are effective in improving learners’ oral language outcomes (ability and/or confidence)?
    1. Which models of bilingual education are most effective in terms of learners’ linguistic outcomes?
19. What methods are effective in schools for assessing learners’ ability and confidence in spontaneous conversation?
20. What models of Welsh language education are currently implemented within Education Otherwise Than at School (EOTAS) provision and special schools across Wales? What evidence exists on their implementation and outcomes?

Post-compulsory education 

Students leaving compulsory education

21. What pathways do young people who complete Welsh-medium or bilingual compulsory education follow into tertiary education and beyond?
    1. How does this vary across socio-linguistic, geographical, socio-economic, and demographic contexts?
    2. What are the implications for their continued use of the Welsh language?
22. What are the views of young people leaving Welsh-medium or bilingual compulsory education on continuing to use Welsh for studying in the tertiary sector and/or in their careers?
    1. How confident and/or motivated are they to use it, and what could support or encourage them to do so?
    2. What are their perceptions of the value of their Welsh language skills for their future careers?
23. Which teaching approaches or models of Welsh language education in the tertiary sector are effective in terms of linguistic outcomes?
24. Which models or interventions are effective in increasing the availability of and/or participation in Welsh language apprenticeships?

Learning Welsh as an adult

25. What factors or approaches motivate adults to learn Welsh, including individuals from specific groups, such as young people aged 16–25; Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people; the education workforce; and new or prospective parents?
26. What factors or approaches enable or constrain adults’ progress in learning Welsh, particularly in terms of the proportion who become independent speakers?
27. What factors or approaches are effective in building the confidence of fluent Welsh speakers to use the language with learners?

Education workforce, resources and qualifications

28. What approaches or interventions could increase the recruitment and retention of the workforce for Welsh-medium childcare, early years education, and compulsory education?
    1. What could increase the representation of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people in the Welsh-medium childcare, early years education, and compulsory education workforce?
    2. What approaches or interventions could increase the recruitment and retention of a workforce with both the specialist skills and Welsh language ability to deliver additional learning provision through the medium of Welsh?
    3. What factors or interventions could increase the number of people undertaking teacher training through the medium of Welsh?
    4. What factors or models could increase engagement with the Welsh language among prospective teachers during their training period?
29. What are the skills, motivation, and confidence levels of teachers to deliver Welsh language education in various contexts—including: 1/ in early years education, compulsory education, and post-compulsory education; 2/ in Welsh-medium, bilingual, and English-medium schools; 3/ during initial teacher education, the early career stage, and beyond?
    1. What training and/or support do teachers need in these various contexts in terms of language skills and language teaching approaches?
30. What opportunities exist to recruit career changers into teaching in Welsh-medium schools?
    1. What types or models of training would be most useful and attractive to them?

Theme 2: Increasing the use of Welsh

Alongside increasing the number of Welsh speakers, Cymraeg 2050 recognises that its success also depends on increasing the use of the language. The strategy sets a target for the percentage of the population who speak Welsh daily, and who can speak more than just a few words of Welsh, to reach 20% by 2050. Our ambition is for Welsh to be used in daily life both in formal and informal contexts, and for services to be proactively offered in Welsh. 

More than just words, the Welsh Government’s Welsh language plan for health and social care, also focuses on improving access to services in Welsh. 

Within this theme, there are evidence needs relating to the use of Welsh in the workplace, with services, and socially.

General

1. What are the opportunities, abilities, confidence levels and motivations of different groups to use their Welsh across various domains?
   1. What is the relationship between these factors and patterns of daily life, particularly in the post-COVID-19 context?
   2. What is the relationship between these factors and the extent to which Welsh speakers use the language in their daily lives?

The workplace

2. What models of bilingual workplaces exist?
   1. What evidence is available on their implementation and outcomes across sectors and contexts?
   2. What are the key characteristics or indicators of a successful bilingual workplace?
   3. What can we learn from other regions or countries about measuring or monitoring language use in bilingual workplaces?
3. What formal or informal strategies are effective in increasing the use of a minority language in the workplace (for work or social interaction)?
   1. What adaptations are needed to these strategies for hybrid working and other changes since COVID-19?
   2. To what extent are people willing to use Welsh in hybrid or online meetings, and what are their experiences of doing so?
4. What models of workplace language training are effective in working towards a bilingual workforce?
5. What factors or organisational support help Welsh learners to use their language skills in the workplace?
6. How does being able to work in one’s preferred language affect performance, productivity or job satisfaction?
7. What is the relationship between the use of Welsh in the workplace and its wider use outside the workplace?

Services (e.g. health, social care, housing, education, justice)

8. What factors or approaches affect individuals’ decisions to use services available in Welsh?
   1. To what extent does an increase in the availability of Welsh-language services lead to an increase in their use?
9. How has technology been used effectively to support the provision of Welsh language services? (see also Theme 3 ‘Digital technology’)
10. What impact does receiving health services in Welsh have on the experiences and outcomes of patients who prefer to use Welsh—especially for More than Just Words priority groups, including people with dementia, people accessing mental health services, children and young people, older people, people using speech and language therapy services, and people with learning disabilities?
11. What factors enable or constrain the provision of health and social care services in a minority language?
12. What can we learn from cases or contexts, in Wales or internationally, where the provision of health and social care services in a minority language has been improved?

Social use of Welsh

13. What social or community interventions are effective in increasing the social use of Welsh, across all life stages and in various contexts?
14. What approaches are effective in creating and sustaining inclusive work and social spaces where Welsh is the default language?
15. In which settings are children and young people more or less likely to use their Welsh?
    1. What factors or interventions facilitate or constrain their use of Welsh in different settings?
    2. What affects children’s and young people’s confidence to use their Welsh?
    3. What factors or interventions facilitate or limit providers’ ability to offer Welsh-medium activities for children and young people across various socio-linguistic, geographical, and socio-economic contexts?
    4. Where, and how, should efforts be focused to increase opportunities for children and young people to use their Welsh outside school?
    5. What training and/or support do youth workers need to encourage children and young people to use Welsh?
16. What are the views of young people completing Welsh-medium or bilingual compulsory education on continuing to use the language socially, and what would support or encourage them to keep using it? (see also Theme 1 ‘Post-compulsory education’)
17. What are the lived experiences of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people in relation to using the Welsh language? 

Theme 3: Creating favourable conditions—infrastructure and context

This theme is about creating the infrastructure and conditions needed to support the two preceding themes—that is, the acquisition and use of the Welsh language. It spans a wide range of policy areas. 

Effective economic planning and development are essential to creating environments where the Welsh language can be transmitted, acquired, learned, and used. Raising productivity in communities with a higher density of Welsh speakers is particularly important for ensuring their long-term viability —and, by extension, the viability of the Welsh language within them. Ensuring that the Welsh language is embedded in cultural life and the media in Wales, and is at the forefront of digital innovation, is also critical to the success of Cymraeg 2050.

Within this theme, there are questions relating to community and the economy, culture and the media, digital technology, linguistic infrastructure, and language planning,

Community and the economy 

1. How can productivity growth be promoted and achieved without negatively impacting the viability of Welsh in Welsh speaking communities?
2. What are the economic and linguistic contributions of social enterprises and businesses in Welsh speaking communities?
   1. What forms of support could help these enterprises achieve their aims and grow?
3. What factors lead Welsh speakers to leave rural Welsh-speaking communities, and how do these vary across different life stages?
   1. What are the characteristics of Welsh speakers who are open to returning or relocating to live in rural Welsh-speaking communities at various life stages?
   2. What factors, interventions or messaging could motivate Welsh speakers to return or relocate?

Culture and the media 

4. What factors or interventions facilitate or constrain the integration of Welsh in the arts, culture, sports and media sectors?
5. What factors affect Welsh speakers’ willingness to work and use their Welsh language skills in the cultural sector?
6. What impact do influencers and social media content have on the use of a minority language?

Digital technology

7. What are the implications of emerging technologies for the Welsh language?
   1. What can we learn from other regions or countries which have bilingual situations about developing and adopting language technologies?
   2. How do open-source philosophies contribute to the development and adoption of Welsh language technologies?
   3. How can both translation technology and other technologies increase the use of Welsh in public and digital spaces?
8. How can Artificial Intelligence and other technologies increase or improve the use of Welsh in sectors such as health, social care, education, and the workplace?
9. What factors enable or constrain the use of Welsh in assistive technologies across health, social care, education, and the workplace?
10. What can we learn from user research about the optimal design and use of bilingual augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices?
11. What influences individuals’ decisions to adopt and use technologies or create more content on social media in a minority language?
12. How do digital technology and content affect what language is used among family members and within social groups?
13. What are the main challenges in ensuring online safety in a minority language?
    1. Which approaches are effective in addressing these challenges?

Linguistic infrastructure

14. What approaches can be used to systematically identify gaps in terminology, develop new standardised terms, and promote their uptake?
    1. What can we learn from how other regions or countries have addressed similar terminology issues?
    2. What methods can be used to monitor the use of newly developed terminology in Artificial Intelligence technologies?
    3. What methods can be used to track the use of newly developed terminology in public discourse?
15. To what extent do individuals make use of the linguistic resources available to support their use of Welsh?
    1. What approaches are effective in increasing the use of these resources?
16. What linguistic issues affect workforce use of Welsh (e.g., availability of appropriate terminology or grammatical issues)?
    1. What types of support or linguistic resources could facilitate the use of Welsh in the workplace?
17. How can trio-writing approaches increase the uptake of Welsh language services?
18. What are the patterns of informal displacement of place names (moving away from their original forms in a minority language)
19. What are the patterns of establishing new informal topographical names that go on to be widely used—either where no name previously existed or by replacing Welsh names?

Language planning

20. What are the implications of likely demographic change in Wales for achieving the goal of one million Welsh speakers by 2050?
21. What can we learn from other regions or countries that have successfully embedded the CEFR?
22. What methods have been used effectively in different contexts to collect robust data and evidence on language ability—particularly by CEFR levels—and/or language use across different domains?
23. What approaches are effective in supporting language planning and promotion across multiple levels, such as between governmental bodies and through cross-sector partnerships?
24. What types of support do different types of organisations need to undertake their own language planning and promotion to contribute to achieving the ambitions of Cymraeg 2050?
25. What behaviours or situations might unintentionally discourage the use of the Welsh language or negatively influence attitudes toward it?
26. What are the advantages and limitations of network-based approaches to language revitalisation compared to individual-focused efforts?

Cross-cutting considerations 

Welsh language policy and planning are inherently cross-cutting, and we want to encourage and draw insights from research that reflects this cross-cutting nature. 

The three themes that structure this ARI are interdependent, and we’re interested in holistic research and analysis that cut across themes, questions, and outcomes. 

Each of the three themes also intersects with other policy areas, such as the early years, education and training, health, social care, the economy, housing, planning and community regeneration. We welcome further engagement from researchers working in these and other policy areas who may wish to incorporate Welsh language considerations into their work, or who hold data or evidence relevant to the goals of Cymraeg 2050. 

There are also overarching themes that provide a lens through which many of the ARI topics and questions can be explored:

Equality, diversity and inclusion

We’re interested in the intersection between the Welsh language and protected characteristics, including age, race, disability, gender and sexual orientation. While some questions in this document focus on specific characteristics, we also want to encourage exploration of equality, diversity and inclusion across all our research questions so that we can better account for all protected characteristics in our decision-making.

Socio-linguistic, geographical and social context

We value research and evaluation that accounts for the diverse socio-linguistic, geographical and social contexts across Wales, including variation in the density of Welsh speakers, in socio-economic conditions and across rural/urban areas. This includes understanding how these contexts influence attitudes, behaviours, decisions, and policy outcomes. 

Perceptions, attitudes and behaviour

We want to deepen our understanding of how perceptions and attitudes influence behaviour in relation to the Welsh language—and how behaviour shapes perceptions and attitudes. 

Learning from other regions or countries with minority languages

While this ARI focuses on the Welsh language, we recognise that many other regions and countries with minority languages face similar challenges. We value learning from these regions and countries and have been working together with international partners over many years. As it is not possible to stay up to date with all developments outside Wales, however, we hope this ARI will highlight the types of insight from other contexts that are of particular interest to us. 

Interdisciplinary perspectives: We want to encourage contributions from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives that can challenge and enrich our understanding of policy issues and solutions. 

We recognise that insights from a range of disciplines and methodological approaches will help us build a more comprehensive evidence base to inform our decisions. We’re particularly interested in the use of innovative and robust methods for research on the Welsh language. We want to work with researchers across a range of disciplines to explore opportunities for applying new and varied approaches. Below are some specific methods we believe may be especially valuable in strengthening our current evidence base: 

Impact evaluation

We’re interested in rigorous evaluations of impact, using experimental, quasi-experimental, and theory-based approaches. We want to better understand what works, for whom, and in what context in relation to achieving Cymraeg 2050 outcomes. 

Experimentation

We want to foster a culture of experimentation, including the development and testing of new ideas through innovative pre-experimental and evaluative approaches. 

Value for money

We are keen to develop our understanding of the value for money of interventions within our areas of interest. 

Administrative data and data linkage

The SAIL Databank in Wales offers vast opportunities to use administrative data and data linkage to answer key policy questions. We’re keen to see research that makes use of this potential to answer questions relating to the Welsh language.   

Behavioural insights

We welcome the use of behavioural insight approaches to better understand people’s needs, motivations, and behaviours in relation to minority language use. 

Life course approaches

Cymraeg 2050 views Welsh language acquisition and use as a lifelong experience. We’re interested in the use of life course approaches that explore people’s relationship with the language at different life stages. This may include longitudinal studies, ethnographic and other means of exploring lived experiences, and studies exploring the pathways of specific groups of speakers.

Interdisciplinary perspectives: We want to encourage contributions from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives that can challenge and enrich our understanding of policy issues and solutions. 

To note your interest in this ARI, please use our online contact form or email us at research.welsh@gov.wales