Bringing nearly forgotten words back into everyday use in the classroom. That is the aim of the new linguistic project launched by the Conselleria d’Educació i Universitats, an initiative aimed at primary schools across the Balearic Islands that encourages pupils to explore traditional vocabulary through reading, oral memory and creative activities.
The programme, presented by Education Minister Antoni Vera, places La Capsa del Tresor at the heart of the initiative and seeks to strengthen the connection between language, culture and heritage from an early age.
TDB keeps you informed. Follow us on: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Inspired by a pioneering linguistic legacy
During the presentation, Vera explained that the project draws inspiration from the work of Mossèn Antoni Maria Alcover, who travelled across towns and villages in the late 19th century to collect and preserve popular Catalan vocabulary, a task that later led to the creation of the Catalan-Valencian-Balearic dictionary.
In the same spirit, the initiative invites primary school pupils at publicly funded schools to identify words that are no longer commonly used, found in traditional tales, old texts, songs or conversations with grandparents and older relatives, encouraging curiosity about language and appreciation of local linguistic heritage.
A hands-on, cross-curricular classroom approach
Classroom work begins with the reading of traditional tales, a particularly rich source of vocabulary, and is complemented by dictionary searches and digital resources. Through this process, pupils discover unfamiliar words and gain insight into the historical development of the Catalan language.
Each participating class will create its own “treasure box”, provided by the regional education authorities, where pupils will store the words they discover on individual cards detailing their definition, context of use and meaning. Teachers can then design activities such as explaining how the words were used in the past and how they might be used today, creating illustrations, or finding modern equivalents.
The project also has a strong cross-curricular dimension, linking language learning with subjects such as social studies, art education and values education, and promoting meaningful, experience-based learning.
Sharing recovered vocabulary beyond the classroom
Throughout the project, teachers will assess pupil participation, their ability to recognise and use the vocabulary explored, and the creativity shown in activities. Selected words, along with the names of the pupils who recovered them, may be submitted to the Conselleria for publication.
These contributions will be shared via the Instagram account @lacapsadeltresor, giving wider visibility to words that were close to disappearing and helping them reach new audiences.
Schools interested in taking part can find full details on the project’s dedicated website. With this initiative, the Conselleria d’Educació i Universitats reaffirms its commitment to preserving and promoting the linguistic heritage of the Balearic Islands, supporting an educational model that brings together tradition, expression and discovery.