Richard Bruton
Question:360. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Education if she is satisfied that there is enough capacity in PPLI to meet the demand to sit leaving certificate Mandarin. [57237/21]
View answerTuesday, 23 November 2021
Questions (360)
Written answers
Under Languages Connect, Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017 – 2026, the Department introduced four new languages to the Leaving Certificate curriculum in September 2020: Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish and Portuguese. These will be examined for the first time in summer 2022.
Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) have been charged by the Department with supporting schools in the implementation of the new languages. Three recognised post primary schools are delivering the Leaving Certificate Mandarin Chinese curriculum. PPLI has six teachers of Mandarin Chinese who are deployed to deliver Mandarin Chinese in twenty schools including the Leaving Certificate curriculum to the three participating schools, Junior Cycle (4 schools) and Transition Year (20 schools). It is anticipated that some of the schools delivering the Junior Cycle and Transition Year programmes will go on to deliver the Leaving Certificate programme over the coming years.
PPLI is also providing the two year Leaving Certificate Mandarin Chinese programme through Saturday classes for students whose schools do not have the numbers required to provide the programme. Eighty Seven (87) students are currently availing of these classes in Dublin and Cork, forty six (46) in year one of the programme and thirty one (31) in year two.
Additional schools may be offering Transition Year Mandarin Chinese through Irish and migrant Chinese teachers as well as tutors from Confucius Institutes.
PPLI has hosted information sessions to over 500 students and parents in early 2021 to introduce the new curriculum. PPLI will continue to host some more sessions between November and December on 1) the specification, 2) portfolio guidelines and 3) the sample paper. This will be for students who are taking Mandarin Chinese outside of school, and will include some tips on self-study (not exam preparation) and will take place once the sample paper has been published. The student and/or parent can get in touch with PPLI info@PPLI.ie for more information.
The Department has been in regular contact with the Teaching Council regarding the publication of registration criteria for Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish and Portuguese teachers. It is expected that the criteria will be available early in 2022.