As soon as they enter the education system, children in Ireland begin learning their mother tongue. But while almost 40 per cent of adults have some ability to speak Irish, only 1.5 per cent of the population speak it on a daily basis outside of the education system.
These figures, from Census 2022, also revealed that we are lagging behind our European counterparts when it comes to speaking foreign languages, with only 15 per cent of the Irish population proficient in a second language, compared to up to 59 per cent of Europeans. In fact, according to Eurobarometer data from May, 2024, between 25-28 per cent are capable of speaking two or more additional languages.
Amy Kelly, a teacher at Gaelscoil de hÍde, Roscomáin, has been teaching German to fifth- and sixth-class pupils for 17 years, having started “under the old Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative”. For the past two years, she has been involved in the Say Yes to Languages (SYTL) programme, which is celebrating its fifth anniversary and is funded by the Department of Education and Youth. It has allowed her to share her knowledge with younger children, in third and fourth class.
She says the initiative is hugely beneficial to young people and could make all the difference to their proficiency in the future. “It is an excellent programme, which also funds visiting language tutors and provides lots of opportunities for existing school staff to upskill in their chosen language,” she says. “I have found that the pupils are excited before the German lessons as there is a lot of focus on developing their aural and oral language skills, so this makes the lessons fun.
“There are lots of games, interesting videos, songs and rhymes. The lessons are very inclusive, as children from other countries who already speak a home language can also be talented language learners, and really shine during these lessons.
“The pupils learn about the German culture too. At the end of my last set of 10 weeks teaching German, I asked them why they liked learning it and answers included, ‘it will help me on my holidays’, ‘it will help me to write to my German pen pal’, ‘it will help me if I meet a professional German soccer player like [Florian] Wirtz’, and ‘it will help me in secondary school’. So, yes, they really enjoyed the lessons.”
Kelly says the SYTL programme gives children “a fantastic headstart in another language”.
“They have already been learning Irish and can apply some of those skills to learning the new language,” she says. “Pupils in Ireland start learning a second language (Irish) in junior infants, so by the time they are in the senior classes in primary school they are ready to start learning a third and fourth language.
“Then, when they get to choosing their subjects for secondary school, they’re more likely to keep on the language they’ve started, which is the overall aim of the SYTL programme. I think it’s beneficial as it will really give them a confident start in that language, if they choose to continue with it, in secondary school. Most of their European counterparts are learning at least one extra language in primary school.
“English, we are told, is the language of the global economy. However, competency in other people’s languages is also hugely important. It opens doors and job opportunities and for primary-aged pupils, it opens minds.”
The Roscommon-based teacher says schools should “apply directly to SYTL if they wish to avail of upskilling courses for existing staff”. She adds: “If they’re looking for a tutor to come to their school, the SYTL team will find them one also.”
Clare Dunne, a teacher at Griffith Barracks Multi-Denominational School in Dublin, says the initiative, which was set up in 2021, has had a very positive response from students in her school.
“With around 25 different languages spoken across our school community, it provides a wonderful opportunity to celebrate, not only the languages students may continue studying in secondary school, but also the rich variety of languages spoken at home and throughout our local community,” she says.
“Beyond the known cognitive benefits, learning to communicate in different languages from a young age is key to language acquisition later in life. It helps children to grow in confidence, develops their communication skills, encourages them to take risks without fear of making mistakes, and deepens their understanding of sentence structure and grammar.
“These skills are transferable to the learning of any language and I can already see how this strengthens students’ understanding of other languages, including Gaeilge and indeed the patterns and rules of the English language itself.”
Dunne, who is teaching second class, says there is a huge appetite for both teaching and learning languages within Griffith Barracks. “It’s such a lovely part of school life to be greeted with a ‘salut’ on the stairs, or to hear children happily singing a French song in their classroom,” she says. “Through song, drama, games and hands-on activities, language learning is brought to life in a very natural and joyful way.
“And it’s not just the older students who benefit from this wider language culture across the school. In our second class, for example, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ in all the different languages the children know or are excited to learn can take quite a while, but it’s a wonderful, shared experience which celebrates everyone’s backgrounds and curiosity.”
Ten-year-old Alice Ardiff is a fourth-class student at Griffith Barracks Multi-Denominational School. Her mother, Louisa Carroll, says Alice is now in her second year of studying French. “By making language learning so much fun, Alice is keen to continue her studies so she also takes extra-curricular French classes,” she says.
“Doing French lessons in class also means learning some games in French or French traditions,” says Alice. “So, from bonjour to bonsoir, French classes are very enjoyable.”
Kelly, who started learning German when she was 11 after meeting a child from Germany who was on holidays in Ireland, says an early introduction to languages can be transformative.
“I met a German tourist who was on holidays in my village and we became pen pals and are still in touch to this very day,” she says. “I continued with German in secondary school and went on to get my primary degree in commerce with German from NUI Galway. I completed my post-graduate teaching qualification with a specialisation in Italian at Canterbury Christ Church University.
“In 2018, I took part in the Erasmus-plus programme, where I taught and shadowed a teacher in the Herigoyen Grundschule, Sulzbach am Main, Germany. We are still in touch and last year our language classes exchanged Easter cards, written in the language being taught, and got the chance to start a pen friendship with a pupil in the German school.
“I’d like to see the introduction of a modern foreign language in all primary schools across the country, using existing staff to teach it or bringing in a language tutor. After all, as many studies around the world have shown, the younger a child starts learning a third language, the better.”