Skip to main content
Normal View

Modern Language Teaching

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 May 2013

Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Questions (74)

Robert Troy

Question:

74. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reinstate the modern languages in primary schools initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25498/13]

View answer

Written answers

The initiative referred to by the Deputy came to an end last June. I have no plans to review the decision to end the modern languages in primary schools initiative. The Department's language policy, as detailed in the Government's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy (2011), is that pupils will learn two languages, English and Irish in primary schools.

As part of the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment is currently developing an integrated language curriculum for primary schools. While the focus of this curriculum will be on English and Irish, the integrated approach should help children to transfer skills acquired in one language to other languages and so establish a sound foundation for the learning of a foreign language in post-primary school. An integrated language curriculum would enable teachers to achieve learning efficiencies by explicitly drawing children's attention to similarities and differences between their languages.

Top
Share