Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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100. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there will be flexibility under the new junior cycle Irish framework for schools that wish to prioritise the oral strand; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31852/17]

Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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101. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the new junior cycle Irish framework will reduce the percentage of marks for oral Irish at junior cycle level; his views on whether this will have implications for the preparation of children at senior cycle in which the percentage of marks is 40%; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31853/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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With effect from September 2017, junior cycle provision for Irish in post-primary schools and settings will comprise two new specifications (syllabuses). The L1 (Language 1, in Irish, Teanga 1) specification is targeted at students in Irish-medium schools and students in English-medium schools who learn one or more subjects (apart from Irish) through the medium of Irish. The L2 (Language 2, Teanga 2) specification is targeted at other students in English-medium schools.  

The new Junior Cycle specifications for Irish (both L1 and L2) have a strong emphasis on oral language.  This is particularly highlighted in the main strand of the specifications – Communicative Competence. This strand places an enhanced emphasis on Irish as the language of learning and communication in classrooms as well as an emphasis on the skills required to communicate effectively with other users of the language. Communication, opportunities for use and interaction are central to classroom tasks.

A different type of assessment methodology for oral language skills (and other skills) will be used in the new Junior Cycle Irish specification. Up to now, there was anoptionaloral language test, taken by a minority of students, and generally assessed by their teachers as part of the old Junior Certificate examination. Now, as part of the new Junior Cycle Irish specifications, the oral language skills of all students will be formally assessed. This will be done by means of Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs) which will be reported by schools to parents at the end of third year in the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA).  This emphasis on oral language will ensure students are prepared to undertake the Senior Cycle Programme.

The assessment of oral language skills will no longer be optional. I am satisfied that the new approach ensures that all students will now have the opportunity to benefit from the experience and the value of participating in the assessment of their oral language skills. Unlike the current reporting format in which candidates receive one overall grade based on their achievement in Irish in the Junior Certificate, whether they undertake the optional oral or not, the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement will allow students’ achievement in the CBAs to be recorded independently of the result in the state-certified examination. This experience should lead to more motivated, confident and independent language learners and users as they embark on the study of Irish in senior cycle.