Sir, – I am amazed and concerned at the increase in Irish exemptions in our Irish education system, especially at post-primary level.
As someone who has taught Irish at post-primary level and who really values our language, culture and heritage, I firmly believe that until the Irish language is taught as a language and not as a subject, we are going nowhere.
Studying Irish at Leaving Certificate level today involves learning off poetry, short stories, essays and sraith pictiúr by heart. The students who are capable of learning and retaining all of this have an advantage, yet they cannot string together a simple conversation in Irish.
How does dyslexia or any other learning disability prevent a student from studying a language? Maybe if more supports were given to facilitate them it would help a lot.
RM Block
The oral Irish is worth only 40 per cent and there are talks of this being reduced. It needs to be increased immediately if we want our language to survive.
“Beatha teanga í a labhairt,” as the seanfhocal says, and our students are losing out on their native language and culture.
The powers that be need to change their attitudes and realise that our language is dying for the want of use. – Yours, etc,
ANNA CASEY DONOHUE
Kinvara,
Co Galway.
Sir, – A few years ago, feeling curious, I asked my Leaving Cert Biology class to translate the phrase “an extra-large pizza with no onions but extra olives, please” into Irish. They all struggled with it. One plaintive voice complained: “Sir, that’s not fair. We don’t learn useful stuff in Irish.” – Yours, etc,
JOHN DOYLE
Enniskeane,
Co Cork.
