PPLI Audit of Foreign Languages - Flipbook - Page 65
• The requirements for studying languages in college needs to be looked at. For instance, we had one teacher this
year who was fully qualified to teach French and had a teaching council number but who had never been to
France. Ludicrous.
• Faoi láthair tá Fraincís mar 'phríómh-theanga iasachta' sa scoil. Tá an Spáinnis tosnuithe againne sa chéad bhliain
ach ta sé fíor-dheacair teacht ar aiseanna, in aineoinn go bhfuil líon na Gaelcholáistí a dhéanann í ag méadú go
tapa. Tá leabhar ag teastáilt go géar- ról do COGG?Tá an Seapáinis mar an dara phríomhtheanga sa scoil faoi
láthair buíochas don PPLI, ach toisc an moill ar an módúil mar ghearrchúrsa níl an féidearacht ann í a thógaint
isteach tríd na scoile ar fad agus is mór an trua é sin. Ina h-áit táimid tosnuithe ar an Sínis mar ghearr-chúrsa. Bíonn
teagascóir againn ó Institiúid Confuscius i UCC. Ach chun go n-oibreodh sé i gceart caithfimid múinteoir eile a
chur sa rang. Molaim go mbeadh ról ag an PPLI sna ghearrchúrsaí seo chun comh-mhúinteoireacht a spreagadh
san ábhar, chun freastail ar an teanga go foirfe. (French is currently the main foreign language in the school. We
have started Spanish in first year but it is very difficult to find resources, despite the fact that the number of
Irish-Medium Colleges that teach Spanish is increasing rapidly. Books are badly needed - role for COGG? Japanese
is currently the second main language in the school thanks to PPLI, but it is not possible to teach it throughout
the whole school due to the delay on the modules as a short course and that is a real pity. In its place, we began
Chinese as a short course. We have a tutor from the Confucius Institute in UCC. However, we need another
teacher in the class for the course to work properly. I recommend that PPLI have a role in these short courses to
encourage mutual teaching in the subject in order to attend to the language perfectly.)
Need for Awareness Raising
• Over the last four years we have given students the opportunity to take a second foreign language at Leaving
Certificate level. The numbers taking it up have been small. We would like to see more publicity given to the
importance of foreign languages in the media. It needs to be publicised just as much as Maths and Science.
• Tá rudaí ana mhaithe ar fáil: (Fraincís): ón ambasáid, an malartú iasachta, ón SSM/JCT, SFGM, MFL go ginearálta,
cumann an múinteoirí FTA srl. An scéim na gcuntóirí iasachta a leathnú. Líonrú breise idir scoileanna (rud a
bheidh an le SSM/JCT tás agam). Feasacht na dteanga a chur chun cinn go náisiúnta; aitheantas do thábhacht
na dteangacha don gheilleagair/chultúr amach anseo. (Some very good things are available: (French): from the
embassy, foreign exchange, from JCT, PDST, MFL in general, French Teachers Association of Ireland etc. Expand
the scheme for foreign assistants. Additional networking between schools (with JCT) Promote language
awareness nationally; recognition of the importance of languages for the economy/for culture in the future.)
• The DES should focus on sustaining what we have on our curriculum instead of growing new languages which
we don’t need. With the growth and effectiveness of technology everybody can translate.
64
Audit of Foreign Languages Provision in Post-Primary Schools 2017
Post-Primary Languages Initiative February 2017 Draft Report