Annual Report 2024 - Flipbook - Page 52
Languages Provision
Leaving Certificate (In-School Provision)
PPLI facilitates diversification of languages provision in schools by offering schools the opportunity to add
additional languages to their curriculum without having to use regular school allocation. Schools are
therefore enabled to trial a new language before committing to longer-term provision. Students are offered
more choice of languages which caters for diverse interests and aptitudes and an imbalance in provision of
languages is addressed. There are few teachers on staff in schools that have capacity to teach the more
recently introduced curricular languages and provision in schools is therefore reliant on this external
provision, at least in the early years while the language is embedded and established.
Learning languages not traditionally offered in the Leaving Certificate curriculum in schools in Ireland such as
Japanese and Mandarin Chinese offers students the opportunity to engage with rich cultural heritage and
acquire knowledge about societies in Asia that has not previously been accessible to them. It offers them a
grasp of a language that could enable them to access technological advancements and skills that will
broaden their cultural horizons and prepare them for the global context beyond Europe.
The facilitation by PPLI of classes in languages that are spoken as heritage and/or home languages by
students in school encourages a shift towards plurilingual education. New language specifications and
curricula integrate plurilingual strands, encouraging students to draw on multiple linguistic resources. This
approach supports more flexible, inclusive language learning and aligns with national and European goals for
multilingual competence.
PPLI support for implementation of these languages in schools, not only enriches the linguistic diversity of
the Irish education system but also provides heritage language speakers with formal recognition of their
linguistic identity. This enhances student engagement, strengthens literacy skills, and supports retention of
these students in school. For heritage language speakers, being able to take their language for Leaving
Certificate opens up further educational opportunities, in particular in the context of accessing higher
education, as a result of the increased potential to meet entry criteria.
The table below shows the number of students studying in schools, at Leaving Certificate level, with PPLI
Development Officers.
52
Language
Students
Chinese
52
Japanese
242
Polish
78
Total
372
- PPLI ANNUAL REPORT 2024 -
