Vol. 388 No. 6
asked the Minister for Education the action she has taken since January 1989 to prepare for the radical advance in the teaching of French, German, Spanish and Italian as modern continental languages within our school system at primary and secondary level; when she will publish a comprehensive and detailed report outlining the steps which will be taken up to 1992 to deal with this deficiency in the Irish public education system; and if she will make a statement on the matter.
82.
asked the Minister for Education whether her attention has been drawn to the intention of the French Government announced in its plan for 1989-92 to take steps towards the introduction of the teaching of foreign languages in primary schools and to ensure that by the end of the plan period, second-level pupils will have acquired two living languages; and the plans, if any, of similar kind which she has for the Irish educational system.
83.
asked the Minister for Education the steps taken during the past five years to implement the Resolution of 4 June 1984 of the Council and Ministers of Education meeting within the Council to promote opportunities for pupils to acquire the skills of communication in two foreign languages before the end of compulsory education.
84.
asked the Minister for Education the steps taken to implement the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of Education meeting within the Council on 9 February 1976 to make available to all pupils the opportunity to learn at least one other Community language and to enable intending teachers to spend a year in the country of the target language.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 43, 82, 83 and 84 together.
At present continental languages do not form part of the approved curriculum for national schools. The primary curriculum is an integrated curriculum involving the development and use of the two official languages, Irish and English, with a view to facilitating the introduction of further languages at an early stage of post-primary education. I would be hesitant at this stage to take any formal measures to introduce a third language to primary schools before I have had an opportunity to examine the recommendations and report of the Review Body on the Primary Curriculum. The review body is due to report later this year.
So far as the teaching of modern continental languages at post-primary level is concerned, I cannot accept the Deputy's suggestion that the system is deficient, or that we have somehow been remiss in preparing for the fresh demands upon our modern languages provisions in the post-primary curriculum which will result from the completion of the internal European market in 1992.
So far as approach, content and teaching methods are concerned, the modern language courses now being pursued in our post-primary schools differ radically from traditional courses. Exposure to and use of the target language in real or simulated conditions are now the central activities of the language class, and pupils are given the opportunity to hear on tape the authentic target language as spoken naturally by native speakers in real-life situations. They are given practice in speaking the language as a vehicle of effective communication. They read and write the everyday language that is encountered in the natural environment of the language and in the media.
It is not clear what the Deputy means by "deficiency in the Irish public education system" and by "radical advance in the teaching". The major problem that effects the situation in Ireland is the uneven uptake of the foreign languages. I am addressing this problem at present and am taking steps to bring about an increase in the number of schools offering German, Spanish and Italian, and in the numbers of pupils taking those languages.
