Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree completely with everything Deputy Harris has said. The wonderful twinning opportunities available through the Comenius project are only now becoming apparent to a number of schools across the country, which allow for intercultural exchanges between schools across the teaching profession and the student body. I agree with the point the Deputy makes about availing of the opportunity to benefit from the fact that there are many children in school here whose native language is neither English nor Irish. There are significant opportunities that have yet to be developed in that area and we need to think through how we can do that. We should never underestimate the power of schools to innovate and provide new learning experiences with very few resources. I have seen that happening in the context of technology and digital learning in schools. When teachers and students combine their innovative and creative skills, they can be quite powerful. What has been achieved in many schools in the field of digital learning could also be replicated in the area of enhancing foreign language skills.

As I pointed out earlier, a new language strategy is being developed which, when finalised, should ensure that language learning is considered as a coherent whole across all levels of education. At primary level the focus of the new curriculum, for the moment, must be on English and Irish. The integrated approach should help children to transfer skills acquired in one language to another language and so establish a sound foundation for the learning of a foreign language in post-primary school. I must reiterate the importance of a continuing focus on the implementation of the literacy and numeracy strategy.

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