Carol Nolan
Question:182. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to address the need for greater uptake of modern languages at secondary level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9249/17]
View answerThursday, 23 February 2017
Questions (182)
Written answers
I am committed to further developing our provision for languages in post-primary education.
In 2015 the Framework for Junior Cycle was published and new subject specifications are being introduced on a phased basis. A new specification for Modern Languages will be introduced from September 2017. This will involve French, German, Spanish and Italian. In addition, Junior Cycle students may study short courses in other languages such as Polish.
In Senior Cycle there are a number of languages available, including French, German, Spanish and Italian. There are also Russian, Japanese and Arabic available in the Leaving Certificate examination. For students whose mother tongue is an EU language other than those listed above, they can present for examination in a non-curricular EU language.
Under the Action Plan for Education my Department is developing a new Foreign Languages in Education Strategy focussing on post-primary, further and higher education. The strategy will be published shortly and will set out clear actions to further improve the quality and delivery of our provision for foreign languages. It would be hoped with the emphasis that will be placed on foreign languages that more students will study these languages and that the diversity of languages studied will be greater.