Evie Nutt

Confidence and Continuity: Supporting Evie’s Welsh in a Vocational Setting

Background

Evie Hutt (17) is a learner at Itec’s Blackwood centre. Evie left school at the age of 16 and began her Jobs Growth Wales+ programme in November 2024. She is working towards her goal of becoming a flight attendant and is keen to build skills that will support her in this career path. But is the Welsh Language one of them?

Welsh Language Experience and Confidence

Although Evie attended a Welsh-medium school in Rhymney, she expressed mixed feelings about the Welsh language. While her mother still occasionally used Welsh at home, the primary language spoken in the household was English. Evie also chooses to speak English with her friends, both in and outside the classroom.

Evie generally does not initiate conversations in Welsh and will only speak the language if someone else starts a conversation in it. She feels limited in her ability to use Welsh socially, as few of her friends or peers speak it fluently. This lack of regular use has impacted her confidence and has sometimes led her to question the value of having learned Welsh at all.

“Sometimes it makes me wish I hadn’t learned Welsh” – Evie

Like many who use the language, Evie feels more confident speaking Welsh than reading or writing it, describing the language as ‘grammatically difficult’. She gives herself a 5 out of 10 for speaking confidence, with even lower confidence in reading and writing.

Attitudes and Aspirations

Despite the challenges, Evie recognises the long-term benefits of maintaining her Welsh language skills, particularly in relation to her career ambitions. Although she has elected not to complete any of her learning through the medium of Welsh, she understands that being bilingual could be an asset when applying for jobs or going on placement in Wales.

Building a trusting relationship is at the heart of customer facing roles such as that of a flight attendant. Evie’s Welsh language skills could well be the answer to achieving that. Being able to speak with a person in their preferred language could put a nervous flyer at ease, putting Evie above other candidates who may not be able to offer this extra detail and service.

Evie is open to more opportunities to use and improve her Welsh and is taking proactive steps to increase her exposure to the language. For example, she has expressed interest in following Welsh language TikTok content to build familiarity and confidence in an informal, engaging way.

Support Needs and Opportunities

Creating a supportive environment where Welsh is used casually and without judgment could help Evie and others like her, increase confidence and willingness to engage with the language more regularly.

Additional Learning Support Ethan Jones is based at Itec’s Blackwood Centre. As a Welsh speaker, Ethan provides opportunities for Welsh speaking learners to use their skills in an informal and safe space.

‘Since starting at Itec I’ve provided support to young people from all kinds of backgrounds with different needs and I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s nice to see the number of people who come here from the Rhymni valley school to speak to them in Welsh in order to practice language skills, and we’ve also been looking at the possibility of starting work placements in Welsh-language schools too.’ – Ethan Jones

Evie would certainly benefit from low-pressure, confidence-building opportunities to practice spoken Welsh in a social or workplace context. Itec Staff like Ethan are providing those opportunities wherever possible.

Ethan himself has also found support and empowerment within Itec to regain the confidence he had in his previous role at a Welsh speaking Primary school. He is able to draw on the support of colleagues and work confidently within Itec’s positive and encouraging Welsh language culture.

Evie may also find value in targeted support to improve her reading and writing skills, ideally in a practical and vocational setting linked to her career interests.

The support already being provided is proving impactful. Through Additional Learning Supports like Ethan, learners like Evie can build confidence with the knowledge and confort that they can do so without judgement and at a pace that suits them.