Many thanks to Nigel for posting on my behalf back in November.

The group on whose behalf I wrote would welcome content-based classes for native speakers of any curricular language. For the time being, that means English, French, German, or Italian. In Canada, the US, and Australia more than a dozen other languages are taught in regular language classes or as immersion languages in public and publicly funded schools, among them Arabic. Catalunya hasn't gone down that path: I wish it would, but that's not the immediate, stated aim of the English-Speaking Children's Parents' and Guardian's Association. If Arabic-speaking newcomers here want a to sign their children up for a bilingual school where Arabic is the medium in half the classes. they'll have to pull up stakes and move to Edmonton, Alberta, or New York City.

Our first point is that a child who already speaks a curricular foreign language may not be learning much in the same foreign language classroom as his/her classmates. On the contrary, he/she may feel frustrated or bored. Gifted education provides a close parallel: gifted children deserve streaming because their needs are different. (Under Spanish law, special ed. is mandated for gifted students, but it's never been implemented.) Thus our request that the system's approach to teaching these kids English be changed. Nothing in my post suggested that the kids be withdrawn from Catalan-medium education. We don't want to isolate kids or subtract from the community: we want to contribute something.

Our second point is that Catalunya is throwing away a great resource. In a dual-language school, half of the children already speak the immersion language at home. When it's time to play, some of them play in the other language. When the teacher speaks that other language, some of them speak up without a second thought or a twinge of embarrassment. If you set up Catalan-English dual-language programmes (and I'm not talking about physical education, art, or math in English: I mean half the school day), everyone will benefit. The Catalan-speaking kids will come away from the experience speaking and writing very good English. The English-speaking kids' English will be shored up. It's win-win.

As for the schools where English is the main language, as far as I know they are all private. If I've been misinformed, please tell me.

Catalunya, and Spain, have an education deficit. Youth unemployment stands over 40% in part because 30% of young people never finish their secondary education. Skills levels here are low, and language skills are no exception. We want Ensenyament to consider dual-language education (in English, French, German, and Italian, for starters) as a way of addressing the problem. 

Thanks again for your interest.