Ninth Level Ireland

“Some secondary schools say they will be forced to reduce pupils’ access to foreign languages due to difficulties recruiting qualified teachers, according to a Department of Education audit. The report also shows evidence of a class gap in access to language tuition, with students in fee-paying secondary schools much more likely to have a choice of languages to study …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 11 November]

“Concerns are being raised that job-hunters don’t have a second language. Jobs.ie says it is proving a challenge for recruiters and it is warning of a potential skill shortage. It says companies are looking for workers who speak German, French, Dutch, Spanish, and Italian …” (more)

[Irish Examiner, 16 September]

“Major multinational employers are concerned that Irish graduates from college and further education fall short in their ability to speak foreign languages. Satisfaction ratings with the foreign language skills of new entrants to the workforce are low among foreign-owned employers here, according to a report for the Higher Education Authority, seen by the Sunday Independent …” (more)

[Wayne O’Connor and John Walshe, Independent, 27 January]

“Government prioritizes teaching of foreign languages in context of Brexit. €15,000 for schools to offer school exchanges. Upskilling opportunities for teachers and new website launched as resource for schools, students and teachers. The Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton TD today (17th September 2018) launched a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of foreign languages and announced new funding for teacher upskilling and school language exchanges …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 17 September]

“Brexit presents challenges across every area of the country and public policy sector. The education system is no different, with enor mous changes coming down the track as a result of the British departure from the EU. The Action Plan for Education 2018 says Brexit also presents opportunities for Ireland to diversify its offerings in a changed international market …” (more)

[Independent, 14 February]

“Third-level colleges are resisting plans by Minister for Education Richard Bruton to introduce quotas on the number of teachers they train in specific subjects. As part of a series of measures to boost the supply of teachers in key subjects such as science, maths and languages, Mr Bruton has announced plans to introduce subject quotas for postgraduate teacher education programmes at second level …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 12 February]

“More students will be encouraged to learn foreign languages and study abroad under a plan to build closer links with Europe following Brexit. The Government’s action plan for education acknowledges that Ireland needs to prepare for a changed dynamic in the EU following the UK’s departure and the rising importance of non-English speaking countries globally …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 7 February]

“Sir, – The new foreign language strategy is to explore the potential of bonus points for languages for school-leavers planning to study languages (‘Plan for more school pupils to study foreign languages’, News, November 4th) …” (more)

[Seán McDonagh, Irish Times, 5 December]

“The Government is considering giving financial incentives for people who want to complete a language Masters, with a view to becoming school teachers. Education Minister Richard Bruton said he would like to introduce a ‘straightforward subsidy’ for people who are proficient in a language …” (more)

[Kevin Doyle, Independent, 5 December]

“An ambitious Government strategy aims to dramatically increase the number of students taking two foreign languages in the State exams despite an acute shortage of qualified teachers for these subjects. The 10-year foreign language strategy seeks to prepare Ireland for Brexit through a series of steps such as potential bonus Central Applications Office (CAO) points for studying foreign languages, boosting the availability of languages in schools and the introduction of Chinese to the curriculum …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 4 December]

“For many Irish people of a certain vintage, France was an exotic overseas destination. Parents packed the kids into the car, drove on to the ferry and went to a campsite in Normandy. On Wednesday, almost half – 46% – of Leaving Certificate students sat Leaving Cert French, compared with the 14% who sat German and the 13% who sat Spanish …” (more)

[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 14 June]

“The number of students taking more than one foreign language for Leaving Certificate has jumped in the last two years. French is by far the most popular foreign language at Leaving Cert level, followed by German.A total of 1,063 Leaving Certificate students took two or more languages other than English or Irish last summer. This was 15% more than the 923 in 2015 and 925 the year before …” (more)

[Niall Murray, Irish Examiner, 1 May]

“Sir, – You report that the Government plans to increase the number of Leaving Certificate students taking foreign language subjects and to diversify the foreign languages available to second-level students (‘Chinese to be added to Leaving Cert curriculum’, April 19th) …” (more)

[Seamus Lennon, Irish Times, 28 April]

“Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education Thomas Byrne TD says the system for training teachers in Ireland is in need of urgent reform. Deputy Byrne says the current system is antiquated as it is unplanned and uncoordinated which has given rise to a shortage of teachers for certain key subjects, particularly for foreign languages …” (more)

[Fianna Fáil, 19 April]

“All pupils will study a foreign language for their Junior Cert by 2021 under ambitious new plans being announced by the Education Minister. The strategy also aims to increase the number of Leaving Cert Students studying a foreign language by 10% …” (more)

[Stephen McNeice, Newstalk, 19 April]

“A new grading system and new CAO common points scale will be used for the first time in this year’s Leaving Certificate exams. The old ABC-style grades, 14 each at higher and ordinary level, have been abolished in favour of eight H (higher) and eight O (ordinary) grades. The change to the grading system is also bringing change to the CAO points scale …” (more)

[Billy Ryle, Independent, 16 March]

“Choosing subjects for the Leaving Cert can be a difficult task for students and their parents. Concern stems from a need to ensure students do not rule themselves out of college courses they may wish to be considered for in the future …” (more)

[Aoife Walsh, Independent, 16 March]

“Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Anti-Austerity Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a recent EUROSTAT report (details supplied) showing that Ireland has the second lowest level of foreign-language learning in schools in the EU27 and a rate significantly below the average; his further views on the decline since 2009; the measures he will take to improve resources for foreign language learning; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 2 March]

“Sir, – In August 2014, former minister for education Jan O’Sullivan initiated a consultation phase on the theme of ‘Foreign Languages in Irish Education’. This strategy was supposed to be published in 2015 …” (more)

[Annelie Eberhardt, Irish Times, 18 August]

“A chara, – Stephen Collins writes ‘Ireland’s overriding interest lies in the survival of the EU’, (Opinion, July 30th). During the week I heard comment on the radio that Ireland, now being the largest ‘mother tongue’ users of English, has a great opportunity in bringing in continental European students to develop their language skills …” (more)

[Andy Maguire, Irish Times, 5 August]