PPLI Primary Guidelines - Flipbook - Page 28
Language and Languages in the Primary School Some guidelines for teachers by David Little and Déirdre Kirwan
ppli.ie
Creative writing – Already in Third and Fourth class, pupils often write for their own enjoyment. They may
•
decide to translate the words of a Christmas carol or poem into their home language or write a new Christmas
poem in English and Irish;
•
write stories in which the characters speak different languages;
•
make a picture dictionary of words and phrases associated with Christmas in Irish, English and their home language;
•
write in English and Spanish after spending a holiday in Spain;
•
write a story about how a pupil who spoke only Irish might feel if he found himself in a country where no one knew
the language;
•
write a dialogue in Irish about buying something in a shop;
•
write a letter in Irish and English to an uncle in Australia thanking him for the money he sent at Christmas and
saying how it has been spent;
•
write about a visit to the park in Irish;
•
write a diary in Irish.
In Fifth and Sixth Class creative writing in multiple languages undergoes further development. The increasing
sophistication of pupils’ language skills is reflected in their interest in writing; the expressive quality of that writing;
the length of the stories they write; their choice of language(s) in which to write; the way in which all their linguistic
knowledge is brought to bear on their writing; and the support this knowledge provides for their further language
development. The texts they write are informed by all aspects of the curriculum and by the innovative ways in which,
with support from their teachers, they present those topics, for example:
•
A description of the weather from the four points of the compass of whatever country is in focus can be written in
all the languages the pupils know – In the north it is cold can be written in English, Irish, home languages and any
other languages the pupils know; similarly for south, east and west.
•
Descriptions of pupils’ homes or their ideal house can be written in as many languages as possible.
•
Pupils can keep a diary of Christmas, Eid and other celebrations in multiple languages and can design multilingual
greetings cards for their teacher and peers.
•
A lesson on a Christmas carol or hymn in Latin, e.g., Dormi Jesu, Adeste Fideles, gives pupils an opportunity to draw
on their collective linguistic resources to arrive at an English translation. This is a highly motivating activity that
pupils engage in with enthusiasm; it is empowering for them to realize that working with your peers you can
understand a language that you have not learned.
•
Multilingual posters can be created on various topics: healthy eating, exercise, anti-smoking, climate change, etc.
•
Pupils can work collaboratively to produce versions of folktales from Ireland and EAL pupils’ countries of origin in
two or more languages.
Mixing languages in one text
Pupils enjoy using all the languages in their repertoire in a single text, for example, a report on a visit to their prospective
post-primary school. The rule is that each sentence must be written in a different language from the sentence that
immediately precedes it.
Delivering
28