Standard of spoken Irish ‘is in freefall’
A DRAMATIC decline in the standard of spoken Irish is confirmed in a long-awaited study which will be officially published today.
Under a third of pupils in 3,000 ordinary primary schools have achieved mastery in Irish communication, compared with more than half in 1985.
A series of tests were given to pupils in 219 schools and the results show that in the ordinary national schools:
— 16.6pc of pupils failed all Irish speaking objectives tested.
— 14.4pc of pupils could not converse successfully about any of the nine specified topics in the communications test.
— 5.7pc of pupils could not say anything meaningful in conversation about eight of the nine specific topics - the only exception was they could give their name, age and class details in Irish.
The study also reveals that the standard of Irish in Gaeltacht schools has declined significantly.
This is because many of the pupils have English as their first language and because an increasing number of Gaeltacht schools are opting not to teach all aspects of the curriculum through Irish.
The percentage of pupils attaining mastery of ‘general comprehension of speech’ in Gaeltacht schools has dropped from 96.3pc in 1985 to 73.3pc in 2002.
The main bright spot for the language is the Gaelscoileanna where the number of schools and pupils has increased substantially. There are now 127 primary Gaelscoileanna in the Republic and standards have remained high, with more than 90pc achieving mastery in the main listening and speaking objectives.
However, even these pupils have a marked tendency to reproduce linguistic errors in speech and written activities, despite exposure to quality listening exercises.
Significantly, the success of the all-Irish schools is not dependent on factors such as the social background of the pupils, the level of education reached by their parents or the use of Irish in the family home.
The study was carried out before the new curriculum - with its emphasis on the communicative approach - kicked in fully, and the impact of the change is not yet known.
Education Minister Mary Hanafin recently announced a package of measures to help the language, including 30 extra language experts, more courses for teachers and fun Irish summer camps.
The study began when Dr John Harris was with the Institiuid Teangeolaiochta Eireann, which has since closed. He is now working in Trinity College Dublin. The report says there has been a general feeling of disillusionment among many teachers for some time now, a feeling that they were carrying a disproportionate share of society’s responsibility for the Irish language.
The fact that during this period the growth of all-Irish schools began to overshadow the traditional achievements of ordinary schools may also have taken its a toll on morale.
Dr Harris recommends a strong national plan of action and the establishment of a high-level group within the Department to co-ordinate and implement a new plan for Irish.
John Walshe
