PPLI Primary Guidelines - Flipbook - Page 5
Language and Languages in the Primary School Some guidelines for teachers by David Little and Déirdre Kirwan
ppli.ie
Introduction
The vision of Languages Connect is that “Ireland’s education system will promote a society where the ability to learn
and use at least one foreign language is taken for granted, because of its inherent value for individuals, society and
the economy”. The Language Education Policy Profile developed collaboratively by the Department of Education and
Skills and the Council of Europe and published in 2008 offered a similar vision: that Ireland should “move away from
‘an official but lame bilingualism’ to become a truly multilingual society, where the ability to learn and use two and
more languages is taken for granted and fostered at every stage of the education system and through lifelong
education”. Immigrant communities “are providing Ireland with a rich and diverse source of new languages”, in society
at large but also in our schools, and the success of the Languages Connect strategy depends in part on ensuring that
immigrant languages flourish, to the benefit of those who speak them and to the enrichment of our society and culture.
The principal focus of Languages Connect is foreign language learning, which is not obligatory at primary level. The
primary sector nevertheless has an essential role to play in the national strategy, for two reasons. First, the successful
learning of Irish at primary school provides fertile ground for the learning of foreign languages at post-primary level
and beyond; and second, Languages Connect is committed to the development of immigrant languages as a national
resource, and this is a process that should begin in primary school:
The Primary Language Curriculum recognizes that ‘most schools and classrooms include
children whose home language is a language other than English or Irish’. Prociency in their
home language contributes to these children’s development of prociency in the language
of instruction.
It is important to add that respect for and affirmation of home languages is a precondition for social cohesion. If home
languages are disrespected or denied, the identity of the individual is also disrespected or denied. This is likely to give
rise to resentment that in future years will come back to haunt Irish society.
In their practical dimension these guidelines draw on classroom practice developed by Scoil Bhríde (Cailíní),
Blanchardstown. The school received its first immigrant pupil in 1993, after which the diversity of its pupil cohort
increased steadily. By 2015, 80 per cent of the school’s 320 pupils spoke a language other than English or Irish at home,
and most of them had little or no English when they started school in Junior Infants. According to the consultation
that informed Languages Connect,“It is difficult for students from immigrant communities to maintain their languages
without additional supports including qualified teachers [of immigrant languages] who are registered with the
Teaching Council”. The experience that informs these guidelines shows, however, that it is possible for pupils from
immigrant families to transfer the literacy skills they develop in English and Irish to their home languages without the
benefit of explicit instruction.
The guidelines are divided into two parts. Part I deals with issues of general principle, while Part II outlines an approach
to language education in primary schools that is informed by those issues.
Delivering
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