The British Council is looking to send three teachers to spend nine months teaching Welsh in three cities and towns in Patagonia.

From March to December next year, the teachers will spend their time at one of three schools in Y Wladfa, the Welsh settlement in Patagonia.

There are three Welsh primary schools there, Ysgol y Cwm in Trevelin, Ysgol yr Hendre in Trelew and Ysgol y Gaiman in Gaiman.

The teachers from Wales will be there as part of the Welsh Language Project, which was set up 26 years ago to help promote the Welsh language in the region.

There are currently over 6,000 Welsh speakers in Patagonia, which has the second highest volume of Welsh speakers anywhere in the world.

Dozens of passengers set sail from Liverpool in 1865 aboard the Mimosa.

They left Wales and parts of England in search of a better life and created a settlement in the Chubut Valley in 1865.

Today, there around 50,000 Patagonians of Welsh descent.

'Emotional connection'

Two teachers, Llinos Howells and Thomas Door, are about to spend three months teaching Welsh in Patagonia.

Marian Brosschot from Botwnnog, Gwynedd, has previously taken part in the programme.

Initially taking part in the scheme in 2020, most of her teaching had to be done online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She now creates online resources including videos on YouTube to help people learn Welsh through the medium of Spanish.

"A lot of people are very passionate about learning Welsh as they are the direct descendants of people who came from Wales and have strong feelings about bringing Welsh back into their family," she said.

"They remember their grandparents using Welsh words and It's got a very strong emotional connection for them."

'Really important'

Ariela Gibbon has been headteacher at Ysgol y Gaiman since March last year. This year the school celebrates its 30th anniversary.

She told Sky News people in Patagonia are "excited" when teachers from Wales come to teach at their schools.

"Of course, we're pleased to have people here who can speak Welsh perfectly from Wales but we also feel closer to Wales," she said.

"It's really important because we're always shocked when we see that people come here are related to someone here too."

Read more:
Ukrainian boy who fled war sits GCSE in Welsh
Goal of reaching a million Welsh speakers in doubt, new report warns
Welsh language TV shows coming to the US in Ryan Reynolds deal

One trait which would count in applicants' favour would be "adaptability", according Ms Gibbon.

"Because we know maybe when children leave school, maybe they won't carry on learning Welsh but we want to make sure children enjoy learning Welsh in school and enjoy having a Welsh experience," she added.

"Our school started as a nursery, and then started growing and now I can see more people, our children and family too have started learning Welsh.

"They understand, maybe they don't speak a lot, but they can understand and they carry on singing in the choir, take part in folk dancing."

Applicants have until 9 October to put their names forward and those successful will receive £750 a month as well as free accommodation, travel and health insurance.