The Welsh flagWales is a bilingual nation. Around a fifth of school-aged children attend Welsh-medium education, achieving fluency levels that equip them to live and work in a country where the minority language is increasingly valued. Yet, once they leave compulsory education, many of these young people, despite being bilingual, do not continue their studies through the medium of Welsh.
This is surprising, because opportunities for Welsh-medium study do exist. The Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol (CCC) has invested heavily in creating Welsh-medium modules across a range of disciplines and offers financial incentives for students to earn credits in Welsh. Despite this, uptake hasn’t grown over the past five years. A joint project at Bangor University and Cardiff Metropolitan University, funded by the CCC, is examining why this stagnation persists and how to address it. From a language planning perspective, the concern is clear: if students do not opt to continue their studies in Welsh, and instead study exclusively in English for three years, their ability to use Welsh confidently in professional settings can slip, particularly in technical or specialised contexts.
In this blogpost, I argue that teaching research methods through the medium of Welsh should be considered the minimum standard for Welsh-medium provision in universities and should be recommended across all disciplines. Based on my experience delivering this provision at Cardiff Metropolitan University over the past three years, I will outline why research methods are uniquely suited to this role, and how they can deliver long-term benefits for students, employers and the wider research ecosystem in Wales.
Why research methods?
Teaching research methods in Welsh is not just about language choice – it is about positioning Welsh as a full participant in the world of evidence, analysis and innovation. It offers both practical benefits for undergraduates and strategic gains for the future of Wales.
Firstly, and above all else, it is a matter of equity and accessibility. Without at least some Welsh-medium research skills provision, Welsh-speaking students can be at a disadvantage in terms of their academic progression. Research methods are covered by a vast array of disciplines in HE, and a good grounding in quantitative and qualitative methods throughout undergraduate study is the ideal preparation for producing a final-year dissertation, and the ideal springboard for embarking on further postgraduate study. This must be embedded into the beginning of all students’ research journeys, in the language of their choice. From considering practicalities such as the implications of collecting and then translating bilingual data, to conducting participatory research with bilingual communities, embedding Welsh into research design is vital in many areas of Wales. Furthermore, students learning methodological concepts bilingually develop key translanguaging skills, enabling them to move seamlessly between Welsh and English academic settings, an essential ability in research contexts where sources and audiences may be bilingual.
Beyond academia, research methods teaching in Welsh strengthens employability and professional skills. Public bodies, schools, healthcare services and media organisations in Wales actively seek professionals who can operate in Welsh in roles involving research and data interpretation. The ability to design surveys, analyse datasets and produce reports in Welsh is directly applicable to roles in policy, community development, as well as academia.
The long-term payoff of Welsh-medium research methods teaching is significant. Over time, it can create a self-reinforcing cycle: students gain confidence and skills; employers begin to expect bilingual research competence; more graduates pursue postgraduate study in Welsh; universities expand Welsh-medium research provision; and a fully bilingual research infrastructure emerges in Wales. Welsh-speaking graduates and postgraduates who have had the chance to learn and apply research methods in Welsh are already working in public policy, health services and education, conducting surveys, analysing community needs and writing reports in both languages.
This provision aligns directly with policy goals. The Welsh Government’s Cymraeg 2050 strategy (its target to reach one million Welsh speakers by 2050) depends on extending Welsh into all areas of higher education, not just arts and humanities subjects. Embedding research methods in Welsh challenges perceptions that the language is only suited to cultural topics, instead showing it can carry the full weight of technical and scientific language. By gaining functional, discipline-specific research literacy in Welsh, graduates are prepared for advanced study or bilingual professional roles.
Critical considerations
However, these benefits are not automatic. If Welsh-medium research methods provision is under-resourced or treated as an afterthought, it risks disadvantaging students rather than empowering them. Safeguards are essential. For example, Welsh-speaking lecturers must have access to the latest methodological tools and professional development. The research infrastructure itself (software interfaces, datasets and online resources) must be available in Welsh. Some online resources do exist, such as CCC’s Porth Adnoddau, but more could be done to strengthen networks of Welsh-medium research methods teaching staff across Wales.
If we are serious about Welsh as a living, working language for the next generation, we cannot afford to relegate it to the sidelines of academic life. Teaching research methods through the medium of Welsh is one of the most effective ways to integrate the language into technical, professional and intellectual domains. It is not just about preserving a language, it is about shaping a Wales where Welsh is an ordinary, unremarkable presence in everyone’s work.