Pupils say ‘Yes to Languages’

OVER 80 pupils from Riverchapel National School in north Wexford took part in ‘Say Yes to Languages’ during an eight week period from January until March.

This is the third year schools have offered students this programme during the normal school timetable following its extension by the Department of Education after it was met with enthusiasm over the past two years.

“We are delighted to be bringing ‘Say Yes to Languages’ to Riverchapel N.S. this year. We have a variety of languages currently being used by pupils and staff and certainly recognise the benefit and importance of a module such as this. Whilst learning languages undoubtedly allows for the development of a life skill, it also helps build greater awareness of the rich and diverse cultures within our own school and local community,” said Principal Martina Prendergast.

Tutors of the module are typically teachers however they may also be part of the wider school community including parents, native speakers, or other staff members. Ms Sonja McNulty delivered the module on French this year at Riverchapel N.S. and is excited to have the opportunity to share her interest in French with the pupils.

“It is a fun, interactive and engaging module which really begins to set the foundations for an ongoing positive relationship with languages. This will be of great benefit to the pupils as they continue through their education, hopefully bringing a love of language with them,” said Ms McNulty.

1,200 schools across Ireland registered to take part in 2023 and 2024. In line with previous years, the module is being rolled out over three terms, with the support of Languages Connect and PPLI (Post-Primary Languages Ireland), a unit of the Department of Education.

A suite of resources has been produced including lesson plans for teachers and tutors and ‘Language Passports’ for all participating pupils to show their family and friend. Packs have been sent to participating schools to help support both the teaching and learning, but also awareness raising objectives of the program.

“Learning a Modern Foreign Language will form part of the primary school experience for pupils over the coming years, in line with the newly-published Primary Curriculum Framework. The future inclusion of foreign languages in the primary curriculum will be informed by the delivery of Say Yes to Languages and we look forward to another successful running of the module in 2023/24,” said Minister for Education Norma Foley while speaking at the announcement of the third year of the module.

The Say Yes to Languages programme offers students between third and sixth class an introduction into a variety of modern foreign languages as well as Irish Sign Language (ISL). Over 700 schools took part in the module last year which saw Arabic, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, ISL, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Tamil and Ukrainian being taught across the country.

The programme looks to raise awareness among pupils of the diversity of languages being used by their peers both in school and the wider community.