Annual Report 2023 Entire Book - Flipbook - Page 109
Home Languages Library Funding Scheme
939 Schools
72 Languages
Action 2.E.4
4,409 Foreign Language Books borrowed
Overview:
The School Library Home Languages Funding Scheme was made available to all primary and post-primary
schools in 2023 due to continued demand. The scheme enables schools to acquire materials in different
languages to support the maintenance of the students’ home languages. The scheme has been running since
2019.
Collaboration with JCSP Demonstration Library Project and the Laois Education Centre-led ‘Community of
Belonging’ project continued.
Main Aims:
•
Provide primary and post-primary school libraries with materials in a variety of relevant home languages
present in the school
•
Foster inclusivity by acknowledging home languages and send a positive message to learners that their
linguistic identity matters
•
Learners can draw on their home language knowledge to understand texts and express themselves.
•
Use home languages to support the development of literacy skills which transfer to the language of the
classroom
•
Support the maintenance of home languages
Activity:
A total of 939 schools were supported in 2023 for School Library Home Languages Funding Scheme,
comprising of 721 primary schools and 218 post-primary schools. Materials in 72 languages were acquired by
schools. The languages that were most in demand were Ukrainian, French,
Polish, Russian, and Spanish. Schools acquired books, relevant games,
magazines, and digital tools such as talking pens. The most wellreceived books have been dual language books, and ageappropriate novels.
PPLI also continues to collaborate with JCSP Demonstration
Library Project by contributing to the JSCP Digital Library Home
Languages collection, which gives schools an opportunity to
access foreign language e-books and audiobooks. There have been
4,409 checkouts of non-English language titles in 2023.
The Laois Education Centre-led ‘Community of Belonging’ project collaboration
continued in 2023 with funding available for participating schools to acquire books in foreign languages to
support intercultural education.
- PPLI ANNUAL REPORT 2023 -
109
