Barcelona to strengthen Catalan learning with 5,000 new course spots

The Barcelona city council and the Catalan government have signed a new agreement to expand Catalan language learning opportunities in the city starting in the 2026-2027 academic year.

The deal will add 23 new professionals to the Consortium for Linguistic Normalisation's Barcelona center and create around 5,000 new annual course spots for adults learning Catalan.

Barcelona's contribution to the language center will also increase from €1.9 to €3.1 million, becoming part of the organisation's permanent structural funding.

Jaume Collboni, Barcelona's mayor said the goal is to eliminate waiting lists and "reach practically 100% of unmet demand."

Under the plan, the number of annual Catalan course spots in Barcelona will rise from 30,500 to 35,500. The Barcelona Language Normalization Center will also increase its workforce from 200 to 223 staff members.

The mayor announced the agreement alongside Catalan language policy secretary Francesc Xavier Vila and Barcelona commissioner for the social use of Catalan Marta Salicrú.

"Never before have so many Catalan courses been offered in the city of Barcelona," Collboni said.

Vila described the agreement as a "structural and permanent strengthening" of the system.

"The demand for Catalan is strong and requires significant deployment," he said, adding that the funding will help authorities plan long-term learning opportunities "for those who are already here and those who will come in the future."

Waitings lists

Salicrú explained that waiting lists fluctuate throughout the year depending on the demand. During the first quarter, around 2,000 were on waiting lists, while the second quarter saw around 1,700 people waiting for a place.

"Based on this estimate, we have concluded that 5,000 spots will be sufficient to meet waiting list demand throughout the entire school year," she said.

She added that around 6% of waiting lists are considered normal, linked to organizational and scheduling challenges that are difficult to eliminate completely.

Catalan-language promotion plan

The agreement is part of the Catalan government's broader 'Plan to Promote Catalan',  within the framework of Spain's extraordinary migrant regularisation process, approved a few weeks ago.

The initiative offers more than 150,000 Catalan teaching and certification spots at A1 and A2 levels during the 2026-2027 academic year, around 50,000 more than currently available.

The agreement also aligns with the objectives of the National Language Pact, which the Barcelona city council joined last September.