The Barcelona City Council has announced a significant increase in the offer of Catalan language courses for adults, which will rise from 23,500 to 35,500 places in just two academic years. This expansion represents a 50% increase and seeks to end the waiting lists for learning the language.
To make this possible, the council will increase its contribution to the Consorci per a la Normalització Lingüística by 1.2 million structural euros, totaling 3.1 million annually. This investment will cover the cost of 23 additional teachers, equivalent to 5,000 new places.
“"It is a systemic change. The goal is for waiting lists to learn Catalan to be history in Barcelona."
This initiative is part of the shock plan for language learning promoted by the Generalitat, which had already increased 7,000 places previously. With this new contribution, it is expected to cover almost 100% of the existing demand, although it is acknowledged that a small percentage of structural waiting list might persist due to organizational issues.
“"The structural growth is important because the demand for learning is strong and requires a significant deployment; this allows us to plan for the future."
The Minister of Linguistic Policy highlighted the importance of this structural growth for future planning, recalling the need to create 50,000 places across the country, especially following the extraordinary regularization of immigrants. The City Council has defended its "unequivocal" commitment to the language, joining the National Language Pact and promoting various initiatives to foster Catalan among young people and adults.
