Diwan (pronounced ; "seed" in Breton) is a federation of Breton-medium schools in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

Concept

The Diwan concept, which allows children to learn French and Breton through

language immersion Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction ...

, was inspired by the '' Gaelscoileanna'' movement in Ireland, the '' Ikastolak'' movement in the Basque Country, and the '' Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin'' movement in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, the '' Calandreta'' schools in

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...

and '' La Bressola'' schools of

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia, ; french: Catalogne (du) Nord ; oc, Catalonha (del) Nòrd; es, Cataluña (del) Norte) French Catalonia or Roussillon refers to the Catalan-speaking and Catalan-culture territory ceded to France by Spain ...

. However, as Diwan educates up to the age of eighteen its schools are more like

Welsh-medium education Education delivered through the medium of the Welsh language is known as Welsh-medium education (). Welsh-medium education should be distinguished from the teaching of the Welsh language itself as an academic subject. 16% of pupils in Wales atte ...

schools in Wales. From ages two to six, Breton is the sole language of instruction. At the age of seven and a half, French is introduced during two out of twenty-six school hours. When the students are ten, French (six hours out of twenty-three) is taught at the same level as Breton. This remains the same when they reach middle school, but English and a choice of Spanish or German are taught in addition.

History

According to Jelle Krol, the strictness with which the

Third French Republic The French Third Republic (french: Troisième République, sometimes written as ) was the system of government adopted in France from 4 September 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed during the Franco-Prussian War, until 10 July 194 ...

imposed its French-only policy throughout the educational system as well as its rejection of all requests for classes in minority languages must be seen in the light of France's humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War and the resulting Germanophobia and

Revanchism Revanchism (french: revanchisme, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse territorial losses incurred by a country, often following a war or social movement. As a term, revanchism originated in 1870s Fr ...

over the loss of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

. The Government of the Republic was accordingly unwilling to tolerate the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is also a ...

and other minority languages in French schools or society. Jelle Krol (2020), ''Minority Language Writers in the Wake of World War One: A Case Study of Four European Authors'', Palgrave. Page 216. The first Diwan school was created by a few parents in 1977 at Lampaul-Ploudalmézeau (Breton: Lambaol-Gwitalmeze) near Brest, because the centralised French state schools were unwilling to offer the Breton language in the curriculum. The initial nursery school was followed by the first primary school in 1980, the first '' collège'' in 1988 and the first ''

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

'' in 1994. In 2008, Diwan schools celebrated their 30th anniversary and organised Ar Redadeg, a non-stop race through Brittany in support of Breton-language learning in schools, which has little support from the French central government. In 2019–2020, 4,307 pupils attend Diwan schools throughout Brittany at all levels from preschool to the

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

. The network includes 48 primary-level schools and 7 secondary schools (six and one ).

Schools formed

*1977 : Formation of Diwan. Gweltaz ar Fur as first chairman. *May 1977 : Opening of the first class with just 5 children at Lambaol-Gwitalmeze (Denez Abernot as the first teacher) *September 1977 : Opening of Diwan school in Kemper (Quimper fr.) *September 1980 : Opening of first "primary school" class. *September 1988 : Opening of first "secondary school" class. skolaj Diwan kentañ e Brest with 8 pupils this relocated two years later to a larger site near Brest in Releg-Kerhuon. *September 1994 : Opening of first "upper secondary school" lise Diwan at Releg-Kerhuon. *September 1995 : Opening of the second "secondary school" at Plijidi in the department of Aodoù an Arvor (Cotes d'Armor fr.) Soon followed by another at Kemper and one at Plañvour (relocated now to Wened (Vannes fr.). Further units were also formed at Treglonoù and Wiseni . *1997 : Founding of a Lycee Lise Diwan at Karaez in central Brittany *September 2006 : Schools formed at Louaneg and ar Chapel-Nevez. *October 2007 : Opening of Diwan school in Kastellin *September 2008 : Opening of first "secondary school" in "Loire Atlantique fr. Liger-Atlantel (at Sant-Ervlan) and schools at Lokournan and Magoer, near to Roazhon. (Rennes fr.) *September 2009 : Opening of two Diwan schools in Rianteg in

Bro-Wened Gwened, Bro-Gwened (Standard br, Bro-Wened) or Vannetais (french: Pays Vannetais) is a historic realm and county of Brittany in France. It is considered part of Lower Brittany."AM""Gwened (Vannes/Vannetais)" in ''Celtic Culture: A Historical E ...

(Historical region around Vannes with its own distinct Breton dialect and at Savenneg e Bro-Naoned. (Pays de Nantes)

References

External links

*
Diwan web site

Map of Diwan schools

Learning the real local lingo can be child's play
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 14 June 2006 {{Celtic languages Breton language Schools in Brittany Associations of schools Minority schools Breton organizations Celtic medium education