The Welsh headquarters of organisations that promote Spanish and German have been officially launched by the Education Secretary Kirsty Williams today (Thurs 21st Sept).
This was published under the 2016 to 2021 administration of the Welsh Government
The Spanish Embassy Education Office & Goethe Institut Offices will be based at Cardiff University. They have each received £10,000 of Welsh Government funding to set up in the city.
In December the Education Secretary signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Spanish Government which included an agreement to support, increase and improve the teaching of Spanish in Wales.
The Goethe-Institut promotes the study of German abroad and encourages international cultural exchange. In the UK German Teacher Awards 2017, two of the three winners were teachers from Wales.
The support is part of the Welsh Government’s Global Futures plan to promote modern foreign languages for pupils and students.
Kirsty Williams said:
“I am delighted to celebrate the launch of the Goethe Institut and Spanish Embassy Education Office’s presence at Cardiff University.
“We want more of our pupils and learners to recognise the importance of modern foreign languages and the significant life and career opportunities they can provide. Our aim is to improve the learning and teaching experience of modern foreign languages in our schools, to make them subjects that more choose to study at GCSE, A-level and at university.
“I want our young people to become global citizens, able to speak to people in other languages and to understand and appreciate their own and other cultures.”