Annual Report 2024 - Flipbook - Page 88
Primary Teachers - Foreign Language Upskilling Pilot
116 participating teachers
14 course providers
Action 2.B.4
6 languages
Overview:
The Foreign Language Primary Upskilling Pilot, in its first year, offered a variety of language upskilling course
options to registered primary school teachers. The pilot of foreign language upskilling opportunities for
primary teachers is set within the context of the implementation of the Primary Curriculum Framework (NCCA,
2023) and the redeveloped Primary Language Curriculum (NCCA, 2024). The redeveloped curriculum now
includes a Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) specification, highlighting the growing emphasis on plurilingual
education.
Main Aims:
The aims of the primary upskilling pilot were as follows:
•
To pilot a variety of language upskilling options for registered primary school teachers, following an audit
on language competence carried out in 2023.
•
To explore the potential to link upskilling opportunities with Erasmus+ funding.
•
To create mechanisms and make recommendations for future upskilling provision.
Activity:
In order to gauge existing capacity and the needs of primary teachers, PPLI conducted an audit among inservice teachers and student teachers enrolled in Professional Master of Education (PME) and Bachelor’s
Degree in Education (B.Ed.) courses. Based on the results of the audit, PPLI reached out to language upskilling
course providers and liaised with primary teachers to facilitate their enrolment in a course of their choice. The
choice of languages included French, German, Spanish and Italian, languages with the highest percentages of
existing capacity among teachers, and, in addition to the four languages above, Chinese and Japanese were
included to assess specific requirements for upskilling in Asian languages. The entry competence language
level of participating teachers ranged from pre-A1 to B1. The mode of delivery varied for each upskilling
course, with options of in-person, online or blended, and courses were offered up to CEFR level B1.2.
During 2024, PPLI launched the pilot for foreign language upskilling for primary teachers. In total, 116
teachers participated in the pilot in a range of 14 courses.
In collaboration with a variety of course providers, PPLI offered teachers a choice of models of provision for
upskilling, including:
•
Reimbursement towards the cost of a language course, as identified by teachers, in Ireland or abroad;
•
Reimbursement towards the cost of courses provided by Cultural Institutes;
•
Grant assistance to participating Education Support Centres to provide courses, facilitated by postprimary or primary school teachers;
•
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Grant assistance towards the cost of courses provided by Higher Education Institutions in Ireland;
- PPLI ANNUAL REPORT 2024 -
