Vol. 424 No. 2
10 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Education the steps, if any, he proposes to take to increase the number of students sitting the Leaving Certificate examination in German, Spanish and Italian in the light of the recently published National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Report on the 1991 Leaving Certificate results; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
75 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education the steps, if any, he proposes to take to increase the number of students sitting the Leaving Certificate examination in German, Spanish and Italian in the light of recently published National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Report on the 1991 Leaving Certificate results; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
76 Mr. Lowry asked the Minister for Education the steps, if any, he proposes to take to increase the number of students sitting the Leaving Certificate examination in German, Spanish and Italian in the light of recently published National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Report on the 1991 Leaving Certificate results; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
83 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Education the steps, if any, he proposes to take to increase the number of students sitting the Leaving Certificate examination in German, Spanish and Italian in the light of recently published National Council for Curriculum and Assessment Report on the 1991 Leaving Certificate results; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10, 75, 76 and 83 together.
I would refer Deputies to the section in the Green Paper on Education for a Changing World dealing with a variety of initiatives related to modern continental languages at post-primary level. The position has now been reached where the great majority of students follow at least one modern continental language, mainly either French or German or both.
The language chosen is a matter for the individual school and its pupils, but I will be seeking to support schools in every way possible in extending their provision for the minority languages of German, Spanish and Italian. The provision of part-time teaching hours over quota for a second continental language will be continued and will be facilitated through the more flexible arrangements for the introduction of additional languages as proposed in the Green Paper.
I also expect a new momentum in the teaching of modern continental languages through the various initiatives in the Green Paper related to focusing on improving communications skills. These include the allocation of 60 per cent of the marks in examinations to oral and aural skills.
The Deputies will also be aware that I propose to introduce an awareness programme for modern continental languages into the primary school curriculum so as to provide orientation to such languages at the earliest possible stage. This should provide a further boost to the take-up of such languages at the post-primary level.
The recent very welcome publication of the NCCA report on the 1991 leaving certificate results provides us with evidence that there is a huge imbalance in favour of French: 14,374 learn French as against 2,804 learning German, 646 learning Spanish and 66 learning Italian. Will the Minister agree that there is a need for a pro-active campaign to sell those all important minority languages? We need to get away from our total hang-up with French. The way to do this is to train additional teachers and the easiest way to train them is to put them in an environment where they can learn the language as part of their teacher training.
I agree with the Deputy. The French language became very fashionable for a while and everyone wanted to learn it. Teachers were provided and that fed on itself. There was an enormous growth in the number of students who wanted to study French. As the Deputy knows, the Government are providing a part-time teaching hours over the quota for a second continental language. I propose to continue that provision and to support schools in every way I can to bring up the standing of the minority languages of German, Spanish and Italian. I take this opportunity to encourage a movement towards those languages in order that a better balance may be achieved.
Because German is becoming more the European language of commerce and because one of the main aims of the Green Paper is to create an enterprise culture, would it not be advisable to put more emphasis on German than any other foreign language and for the Government to provide incentives to ensure that German is taught?
Perhaps we should be teaching German numeracy instead of German literacy, in view of the currency implications.
They go hand in hand.
About 4,000 students took German for their leaving certificate this year, which was slightly less than 10 per cent of the total number of students taking leaving certificate. That level needs to be improved. About 60 per cent of students took French for their leaving certificate so it is clear that an imbalance does exist. The provision of part-time teaching hours over the quota for the teaching of German is a measure taken by the Government and it is hoped that we will be able to continue to expand that provision. It is also a matter of what the pupils and the schools are interested in. I encourage them to aim for a better balance between French and the other continental languages.
Would the Minister not agree that greater economy of time and energy for both students and teachers would be attained by the encouragement of the teaching of Esperanto rather than the traditional national languages?
I do not consider that to be practical at this stage of our educational system.
That is a shame.
