Catherine Murphy
Question:451. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education if existing primary teachers will be required to teach modern foreign languages as part of the new primary language curriculum. [12253/24]
View answerWednesday, 20 March 2024
Questions (451)
Written answers
The existing Primary School Curriculum was introduced in 1999. However, over the past 25 years, developments in education nationally and internationally, as well as changes in our society have created the need for review and redevelopment of our Primary Curriculum. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) have been engaging in this work in recent years.
As a result, and after extensive consultation, the New Primary Curriculum Framework, published in March 2023, sets out the direction of a redeveloped primary curriculum. The inclusion of modern foreign languages (MFL) at stages 3 and 4 (3rd to 6th class), which was strongly supported in the consultation process, forms part of this redeveloped primary curriculum. The NCCA opened a public consultation on all the new specifications on the 6th March 2024 and the process will run until June 2024. Access to this is available through the NCCA website.
It is intended that MFLs will build on children’s existing knowledge and awareness of language, from the Primary Language Curriculum (2019), and that they will progress from a language awareness model in stage 3 (3rd and 4th class) to a competency model in stage 4 (5th and 6th class). At Stage 4, children will begin to learn to communicate in the MFL at a very basic level.
MFLs are currently a feature of the curriculum at primary school level in many European countries. Many of our own Irish primary schools have participated in the Say Yes to Languages sampler module (with up to 15 foreign languages being taught) over the last three years. Some 1,200 schools are participating in the 2023/24 year with approximately 230 registered teachers in 160 primary schools delivering the module and a range of other personnel delivering it in other schools. Training and resources for the sampler modules have been provided by Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) on behalf of the Department. Further detail on Say Yes to Languages is available here: www.languagesconnect.ie/primary/.
Work is ongoing in preparation for the introduction of MFL at primary level. A comprehensive professional development programme will be provided on all the subject specifications within the new primary curriculum, including modern foreign languages, through the Department’s support service Oide in the case of primary schools and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in the case of special schools, with PPLI providing additional support. This will include a range of face-to-face and online supports to assist school leaders and teachers as they work through the introduction, implementation and embedding of the new curriculum within our classrooms. Oide will provide teacher professional learning in curriculum competence as well as pluricultural and plurilingual competence, commencing in the 2025/26 school year and PPLI will support development of language competency.
It is only at stage 4 that a foreign language competency to teach will be required. An audit of the schools participating in the Say Yes to Languages modules indicates that a vast majority (95%) of primary teachers studied a foreign language as part of their Leaving Certificate programme. Many of these (50+%) completed their Leaving Certificate more than 20 years ago however, so will require language upskilling to ensure confidence and competence. PPLI is already funding a range of initiatives to support language upskilling for teachers. Teachers will already have language awareness competency from implementing the Primary Language Curriculum though further upskilling will also be required to include pluricultural and plurilingual competence.
It is expected that MFL at primary level will be introduced from 3rd class upwards on a phased basis through upskilling existing teachers and over time all teachers entering the system will have MFL competency.