A chara, - I am surprised by Enda Kenny's proposal that Irish not be taken by all Leaving Certificate students in future. If such a proposal were implemented the result would be the marginalisation of Irish as a subject in our schools.
There have been problems in the teaching of mathematics in recent years. A new syllabus is being designed to combat this problem. Would this approach in the case of Irish not be a preferred solution? Irish, like any other language, is a skill to acquired by practice. You cannot cram a language.
If Mr Kenny's proposal were implemented, students would be under tremendous pressure, in the context of the points system, to choose a subject that can be crammed.
If students are forced to choose between Irish and other subjects required for their chosen careers (for example biology or chemistry in the case of medicine) the student will be left with no choice but to choose the other subject, thereby denying such students the choice of studying Irish. Many schools would stop teaching Irish for the Leaving Cert.
This policy would be a retrograde step not only regarding the teaching of Irish but also the teaching of other languages, frustrating the policy of the European Union that all citizens have proficiency in three languages. Conradh na Gaeilge fully endorses this European ideal.
I understand that there is a need for change and the following are Conradh na Gaeilge's policies regarding this question based on European best practice:
1. All language teachers at both primary and post-primary level should have attended a year-long immersion course in that language's heartland as part of their training.
2. One subject along with Irish should be taught through Irish to all pupils/students.
3. One subject should be taught through a third language to every second-level student.
4. The realisation of an Irish language syllabus (1) for native speakers and (2) for learners.
5. The realisation of intense "catch-up" courses in Irish for pupils who attended school overseas.
6. The realisation of State examinations in the major languages of the immigrant communities. - Is mise,
DÁITHÍ MAC CÁRTHAIGH, President, Conradh na Gaeilge, Baile Átha Cliath 2.
A chara, - While living in Italy some years back, I managed to pick up a communicable knowledge of that nation's language from scratch in a matter of weeks. This was achieved mainly in cafés and bars, and through socialising.
My wife, a Scot with no Gaelic, frequently watches TG4 and is a fan of its programmes. She frequently laments the lack of Gaelic in the Scottish education system and admires its status as an educational keystone in Ireland.
Enda Kenny's Dáil reference to giving Gaelic the "Riverdance" treatment is a soundbite too far. How our national language is taught should be reviewed - its inclusion as a required Leaving Certificate subject should not. - Is mise,
PROINSIAS MAC FHEARGHUSA, An Uaimh, An Mhí.
A chara, - I am a "victim" of our education system's shocking attempt to develop our native tongue, certain that my standard of spoken Irish deteriorated between Bunscoil and the Ardteist.
I salute Fine Gael's proposal, if only because it encourages debate on the black hole in our education system and the thousands of hours wasted failing to develop "ár teanga".
- Is mise,
BRIAN Ó LUANAIGH, Bóthar Faiche na Coille, Cill Airne, Co Chiarrai.