At the Union of Students Ireland (USI) national conference in March, the union passed a motion to support a change in Irish education at primary, post-primary and third-level education. The Vice-President of the union for the Irish Language is set to work with a number of different Irish language organisations, teachers’ unions and teacher-training colleges to conduct a study on how the language is taught nationally.
The aim is that this will result in a report that “would set out a progressive, comprehensive, and multilateral strategy regarding the teaching of Irish at primary and post-primary level.”
Congress determined that there were “long-term failures” in how the language is taught. They further noted there has been little collaborative effort to address the issue, questioning the impact this could have across the country.
USI President Kevin Donoghue also noted that much of the curriculum is focused on the written aspect of the language, something which he raised as an issue. “There needs to be more of an emphasis on the spoken language. Fluency is best reached through submersion, which is why we’re recommending all students go to the gaeltacht. USI is concerned about the teaching of the Irish language at secondary level in Ireland and noted that many students believe that the Irish language is not “taught as a language” and that too much focus is put on literature instead of the oral practice.”
While Congress noted that there had recently been a change in the Leaving Certificate curriculum, it stated that this must be in conjunction with other language programmes. They particularly addressed the Common European Framework for Languages (CEF) in examining how languages should be taught, which provided guidelines as to the proficiency of language learners across Europe. It emphasised the importance of the oral side of a language for improving fluency.
USI said the changes in the Leaving Certificate that give a higher emphasis and ratio in the examination process on the spoken word and the changes in the teaching structure are going in the right direction, but need to be improved to be a more attractive subject to students.
Motions among unions for a change in primary and post-primary schools are not unusual. At UCDSU council this year, motions have also been placed calling for the union to campaign for a change in how sex education is conducted at second level.
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