IPPN

Irish primary pupils are at the bottom of the Euro class when it comes to learning foreign languages.

Only one in every 28 pupils (3.5pc) is studying a foreign language, compared with one in every two throughout Europe, a confidential report reveals.

It also shows that fewer Irish adults can conduct a conversation in a foreign language than people from any other European country.

Two-thirds of Irish people, who took part in a Eurobarometer study, said they did not have the competence to hold a basic conversation in any language other than English or Irish.

The report, from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the State's advisory body, says that English speaking countries, including Ireland, lag behind the rest of Europe in provision of modern languages in primary schools.

Ireland is one of four countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that does not have have a compulsory curriculum for modern languages for 9 to 11-year-olds.

In other European countries, pupils are offered a foreign language at the senior stages of primary schooling. For instance, Finnish is taught in Finland from the start of primary education, and Swedish during the third grade when the pupils are about nine years old. Other languages, such as English and German, are introduced when children are in sixth or seventh grade, at 12 or 13.

Resources

The report, entitled 'Modern Languages in the Primary School Curriculum', says teachers identified the lack of resources as of great importance, including lack of adequate computing facilities and material appropriate for the primary-school age group.

The lack of time was named as one of the greatest impediments. Many teachers felt there was not enough time to cover all the objectives of the curriculum subjects and to meet the needs of all learners.

This view was supported last night by INTO, whose general secretary, John Carr, said plans to introduce a modern language component into the primary school curriculum would come to nothing as long as the Government continued to deprive schools of resources.

The report calls for a unified approach to the teaching and learning of languages. This could take account of the many languages and cultures present in schools -- it is estimated that 167 languages can now be heard in classrooms in Ireland.

The report recommends promoting greater language awareness, such as drawing pupils' attention to similarities and differences between Irish, English and additional languages.

Research has shown that raising awareness about the links between languages helps to improve overall literacy skills.

Children's attention should also be drawn to the sounds of languages, and they should be encouraged to become young linguists who have a greater awareness of language, how it works and how it is put together.

- John Walshe Education Editor