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

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

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 education, bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including maths, science, or social studies. The languages ...

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

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the '' Calandreta'' in

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

and '' La Bressola'' of

Northern Catalonia Northern Catalonia, North Catalonia or French Catalonia is the Catalan language, Catalan-speaking and cultural territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 in exchange for France's effective renu ...

. However, as Diwan educates up to the age of eighteen, it most resembles the Welsh-medium education of Wales. From ages two to six Breton is the sole

medium of instruction A medium of instruction (plural: media of instruction, or mediums of instruction) is a language used in teaching. It may or may not be the official language of the country or territory. If the first language of students is different from the offic ...

. At the age of seven and a half French is introduced during two out of twenty-six school hours. When the pupils 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 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 The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

and the resulting Germanophobia and

Revanchism Revanchism (, from ''revanche'', "revenge") is the political manifestation of the will to reverse the territorial losses which are incurred by a country, frequently after a war or after a social movement. As a term, ''revanchism'' originated i ...

over the loss of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

and

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

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

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

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 1994. In 2008, Diwan schools celebrated their 30th anniversary and organised Ar Redadeg, a non-stop foot 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 attended 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 included 48 primary-level schools and 8 secondary schools (six and two ).

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 (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 British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

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