Sometimes unexpected things happen in education – in this case, an opportunity came to align two systems.
Layla from Texas has been learning Welsh through Ysgol Sadwrn’s 1:1 online tutoring service for some time, but of course, Welsh is not part of the US high school curriculum.
As her Welsh skills developed, it was considered whether these skills could be recognised and counted as official world language credits within the US education system. In Texas, high school students are expected to complete “LOTE” (Languages Other Than English) credits. Although these are usually earned through regulated school classes, external learning can be recognised if properly documented and aligned with state standards. To make this recognition possible, Layla’s proficiency in Welsh needed to correspond with the structure of the US education system to be recognised and accepted.
To show her proficiency, Ysgol Sadwrn developed a formal assessment mapping her progress to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) LOTE standards, ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines, and a timed and controlled assessment protocol covering all language skills.
The award was accepted by the school and external assessors, and indeed, Layla received 2 LOTE credits in Welsh, which were added to her high school transcript in Texas!
This milestone is an incredible personal achievement for Layla, but it also shows something broader: it is possible to recognise the feasibility of minority languages within formal education systems across the world. At Ysgol Sadwrn, building bridges is essential work, allowing the learning of Welsh to reach past borders, systems, and assumptions. Learning is often already there; the question is whether systems are willing to recognise it – and as Layla proved, sometimes all that is needed is to build the right bridge.
Congratulations, Layla!
