Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

462. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to introduce changes to the second level Irish language syllabus to increase its relevance in every day society in non-Gaeltacht areas. [26916/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In the context of the new Framework for Junior Cycle 2015 and as set out in my Department's Action Plan for Education 2016-2019, two new subject specifications for Junior Cycle Irish (Language 1 (L1) and Language 2 (L2)) are to be implemented for first-year students in post-primary schools from September 2017.

This is the first time, in the history of post-primary education in Ireland, that separate Irish specifications have been developed for differing school and student contexts.

The L1 specification will be delivered in schools where Irish is the language of schooling and, in relation to non-Gaeltacht areas, seeks to further develop the competence of students attending Gaelcholáistí and Aonaid LánGhaeilge.

The L2 specification caters for students in schools where English is the language of schooling and it too seeks to build on prior learning achieved during their primary education.

Both specifications focus on the provision of learning experiences that relate to students’ lives and they also seek to provide frequent opportunities for authentic engagement and interaction by students with the language and with those who use it regularly.

At senior cycle, the Leaving Certificate Irish syllabus (updated in 2012) explicitly states as one of its aims that ‘students will experience Irish as a communicative language that is relevant to the contemporary world’. Topics listed in this syllabus include the culture of youth, the environment, healthy living, as well as challenges facing Ireland. Thus, through their study of the language, students use Irish to engage with everyday societal issues, be they local, national or international.

The need to provide for differentiated specifications at senior cycle is recognised by my Department and, as part of the Gaeltacht Education Policy, “work is expected to commence on the development of differentiated L1 and L2 specifications for senior cycle Irish once the differentiated specifications for Irish at junior cycle have been developed and are working well in schools.” (Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2016)

The decision to provide two differentiated specifications for junior cycle, and the proposed continuation of this approach into senior cycle, was taken following extensive consultation with stakeholders. During more recent consultations, feedback on this new direction in curricular provision for Irish at post-primary level has been very positive particularly in that they:

(a) place the student and the student's Irish language learning needs at the core of the learning experience and environment, and

(b) afford teachers the professional autonomy to make decisions about how and what their students will experience as language learners in the Irish language classroom.