Claim that cutting Irish teaching hours will aid language acquisition ‘defies logic’

Minister for Education Norma Foley’s claim that the new primary school curriculum, which reduces the allocated time for teaching the Irish language, will enhance children’s acquisition of it “defies logic,” an education specialist has said.

Under the Primary Curriculum Framework, announced by the Minister in March, pupils will learn foreign languages from third class onwards. However, Irish language instruction time in English-medium schools will be shortened from 3½ hours to three hours per week starting from first class, a decision criticised by Irish language groups and teacher representatives.

Prof Pádraig Ó Duibhir, director of Sealbhú, a Dublin City University-based research centre specialising in applied linguistics and language planning research, made his comments in reference to a written answer to a parliamentary question tabled by Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh.

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Mr Ó Snodaigh, chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Irish Language, Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking Community, asked Ms Foley to identify research showing that the half-hour of Irish language teaching due to be lost under the framework will not adversely affect learning outcomes.

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In response, Ms Foley pointed to research carried out by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) and said there has been “a significant change” in the teaching and learning of languages in general. She said she believed the new curriculum “will improve language acquisition in Irish”.

Prof Ó Duibhir described the claim as “insulting” and accused the Minister and her department of disregarding internal research which demonstrates a correlation between a decrease in allocated teaching hours for the Irish language and a decline in children’s language proficiency levels.

“I feel it is insulting and defies logic to say that the students’ ability will improve while the time allocated to teaching is reduced. It would be more honest to state that achievement will be reduced,” he said.

Research dating back to the 1980s shows that Irish language standards have been falling consistently at primary school level, Prof Ó Duibhir told The Irish Times.

“The evidence is there,” he said. “This is research that they conducted themselves. It was commissioned by the NCCA or [written by] the inspectors within the department [that] highlighted the situation again and again. How could the Minister for Education make such a statement? We know from this research and experience that a reduction in time results in a reduction in achievement.”

He added: “As the time allocated to teaching Irish is reduced, the results will suffer and so will the enjoyment — it is the complete opposite of what should be done.”

Recent study

According to research carried out by Prof Ó Duibhir, the time allocated to teaching Irish at primary school has dropped by 500 hours per year, or 37 per cent, since 1971. There is a growing concern among experts about the declining proficiency levels in the Irish language among schoolchildren, which many partially attribute to ongoing reductions in contact hours.

A recent study conducted by Sealbhú highlights a noticeable gap detected by teachers in Irish language skills among students upon entering secondary school, compared to the expected proficiency required at that stage to meet Junior Certificate specifications.

“The system still expects children to achieve the same learning outcomes and that is not possible when teaching hours are reduced,” said Prof Ó Duibhir. “This leads to unrealistic expectations and a greater sense of failure when outcomes are not achieved.”

Irish language groups have criticised the latest reduction in teaching hours allocated to the Irish language under the framework, which was developed by the NCCA over a period of six years. A meeting was held between Foras na Gaeilge, Conradh na Gaeilge and department officials and the NCCA recently, where it was requested that the hours would not be cut.