The ARFer programme

What is ARFer?

The ARFer programme is a behaviour change methodology. It is inspired by the Soziolinguistika Klusterra company in the Basque Country. ARFer is intended to change language practices to enable colleagues who can speak Welsh (but have established a habit of using English) to use more Welsh at work. This is done by applying two principles that derive from the behavioural sciences:

  • Committing to behave in a particular way;
  • Capitalising on the significant influence that defaults can have on people's behaviour.

Evidence of ARFer's impact

We have implemented ARFer in a variety of workplaces. Before the ARFer programme is implemented in a workplace, we establish a baseline of language use – that is, we measure how much Welsh is normally used in the workplace. We then collect data on the language use of staff when ARFer is in place. This offers us the opportunity to compare language behaviour between the periods in order to assess the programme’s potential impact on the use of Welsh.

The graph below provides a snapshot of ARFer's initial results and highlights the impact of the programme on staff language use.

graff ARFer

ARFer Resource Pack

The ARFer Resource Pack offers a framework to help workers use more Welsh at work. We are currently in the process of recruiting workplaces to help us develop the resources by taking part in a trial phase.

Further information:

If you have any queries about the ARFer programme, please contact arfer@bangor.ac.uk

Dr Lowri Angharad Hughes, (ARFer Programme Director).
Arwel Tomos Williams, (ARFer Programme Researcher)

Other members of the research team

Professor Carl Hughes, (Head of the School of Education & Human Development)
Dr Emily Roberts-Tyler, (Lecturer in Education)