(Gaeilge) Sárscoil Fíbín don Idirbhliain
March 8, 2017
(Gaeilge) Riachtanais Speisialta Oideachais sna Bunscoileanna lán-Ghaeilge
March 8, 2017
(Gaeilge) Comhdháil CAER 2017
March 8, 2017
(Gaeilge) Ilteangachas sna Luathbhlianta – Comhdháil ar an 18-19 Bealtaine
March 8, 2017
Newbridge Gaelscoil choir raise €3,000 for Jack and Jill
March 8, 2017
The Newbridge Gaelscoil Chill Dara have raised a fantastic €3,000 for the Jack and Jill Foundations from the proceeds of their CD.
The choir, which is based at the school on the Green Road, was delighted to present Hugo Jellett, CEO of the Jack and Jill foundation with the cheque last week.
The funds were raised by the children of Gael Scoil Chill Dara as part of their social entrepreneurship endeavours: children helping children.
Part-funded by a recording bursary from Kildare County Arts Service, and drawing on the additional talents of some of Kildare’s best loved musicians, the school choir recorded an Irish-language CD, “Ding Dong Dedero”, on behalf of Jack and Jill.
The CD features some of the most famous Irish songs and music, performed by The Nás na Rí Singers, In Caelo choir, Frankie Lane, Conor Mahony, Ruth O’Hara as well as almost every pupil from Gael Scoil Chill Dara, and the school choir.
The first tranche of CDs raised €3,000 during December 2016. The CD will be on sale again in December 2017, but is currently available from the office at Gael Scoil Chill Dara, to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge and St Patrick’s Day.
The choir of Gael Scoil Chill Dara was founded in November 2014 and has sung with the Dublin Gospel Choir. It took first place in the Irish language choral class at the Kilkenny Music Festival 2016, and performs frequently during the school year.
The Jack and Jill Foundation is Ireland’s only charity specialising in providing home-nursing care to brain injured children across Ireland, including more than a dozen in Co Kildare at this moment.
The money raised by the CD project will fund almost two hundred hours of respite home-nursing care for some of Ireland’s sickest children.
All-Irish schools to get separate courses
March 8, 2017
Revamped junior cycle syllabus for schools with fluent speakers
A radical change in the teaching of Irish at junior cycle will see the roll-out of a separate syllabus for students in all-Irish schools from September.
For the first time, pupils in Gaeltacht and other Irish-medium schools will study the native language at a deeper level than those in other schools.
The two new programmes for Irish will be introduced for first years in September, as part of the phasing-in of junior cycle reforms. Both will be taught at higher and ordinary level.
The move to have two separate syllabi follows concerns raised by Irish language organisations about serving the needs of native speakers, or other students who are proficient, or aspire to a high proficiency, in Gaeilge.
It also sits with the Policy on Gaeltacht Education, published by the Department of Education last year. This was the first comprehensive strategy for education in Irish-speaking communities since the establishment of the State.
The strategy aims to ensure the availability of a high-quality Irish-medium educational experience for young people living in Gaeltacht areas and to foster Irish-language proficiency in the wider Gaeltacht community.
The change at junior cycle means that similar consideration will have to be given to having separate programmes in Irish for Irish-medium schools and English-medium schools for Leaving Cert students.
Government education advisers, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), have signed off on the new syllabi and have sent them to Education Minister Richard Bruton for final approval.
The programme aimed at English-medium schools, known as L2, is for students who use Irish as a second language and for whom the Irish class is their main engagement with Gaeilge.
The other syllabus, known as L1, is for both learners and native speakers of Irish in Gaeltacht schools and students in Irish-medium schools or all-Irish units within English-medium schools.
It is targeted at students who use the language on a daily basis, whether at home, school or in the community, and already have well-developed skills in the native tongue.
Apart from promoting richer language and vocabulary, this syllabus will have a greater focus on cultural awareness and topics such as language patterns and differentiation between dialects.
According to the NCCA, the provision of enriched language-learning experiences for all students, particularly those who are native speakers of Irish, is of utmost importance.
The hope is that the higher levels of skill and understanding developed through the L1 syllabus will support Irish speakers to take advantage of opportunities for language use in the community and play an active part in Gaeltacht life.
While the two syllabi were drawn up to meet the needs of different sectors, schools will have the option of offering both, if there is demand.
Work on the two syllabi began after the standard NCCA consultation on a proposed new syllabus for junior cycle Irish in 2015.
Serious concerns were raised about the capacity of a single syllabus to meet the needs of students of widely varying levels of proficiency and competence in the language.
In one survey, 60pc of those who replied through the English version felt that a single syllabus was adequate.
In contrast, 64pc of those who replied on the Gaeilge version disagreed.
The strong feelings led to an extension of the consultation and a forum to explore how best to address the issue, which, in turn, prompted the development of the two separate syllabi.
(Gaeilge) Acmhainní Múinteoireachta ar Shábháilteacht Idirlín
March 8, 2017
Postgraduate profile: Jillian O’Malley
March 7, 2017
Irish speaker from Mayo is studying for an MA in Scríobh agus Cumarsáid at UCD
I completed my undergraduate degree – a BA in applied languages (Irish, French and Spanish) – at the University of Limerick. After college I worked in Microsoft Ireland’s graduate programme as a French accounts manager.
I have recently begun working at Aonad na Gaeilge, the Irish Language Centre within the School of Modern Languages and Applied Linguistics at UL. My focus is on promoting the Irish language community at the university; developing university links with the Irish language community in the region, managing the Irish language social space at Seomra na Gaeilge; and co-ordinating Irish language courses for students and staff.
So there is a huge overlap between my academic and professional life – one compliments the other. I am very lucky to be able to put what I am learning into practise on a daily basis.
I’ve always been passionate about the Irish language and Irish culture. I wrote my final-year thesis in Irish. The topic related to the singing and musical tradition in the west of Ireland, and I really enjoyed the whole process, which involved interviews, transcriptions and research.
I knew at that stage that I wanted to continue studying Irish, with a focus on translation. There is also the opportunity take modules in different languages with at UCD’s Applied Languages Centre as part of this master’s, which I think is very beneficial.
One thing that attracted me to this master’s was the option to complete a work placement. I am in my first of two years on this course, so I will be completing this placement next summer. Ideally, I’d like to do a translation placement in one of the European institutions. Irish has been an official language of the EU since 2007 and it is gradually being upgraded to a full working language.
This phase is due for completion in 2021/2022; in the meantime, the EU will expand their translation services in order to cope with the increased workload. This means the creation of jobs for Irish speakers in order to bring it on a par with the 23 other official languages of the EU.
In addition to translation, there are numerous publishing, media (print, radio television, online), teaching and research available for people with Irish language qualifications. There are also Celtic language departments in universities worldwide. The Fulbright programme is proving hugely successful in the US.
I am completing this master’s on a part-time basis, which means at most two modules per semester. I have chosen modules that relate to translation and grammar for the most part.
Na Meáin Ghaeilge involves continuous assessment, diary entries, readings and an essay. It is a very interactive module, with weekly guest speakers throughout.
One of my favourite things about the course is the small class size (10), which makes for a more personalised learning experience when your tutors know you and your group well. The tutors on this course are experts in their field, and I have really enjoyed the modules I have chosen so far.
UCD’s flexible timetable allows me to work at the University of Limerick while studying in Dublin possible. Most of the modules are scheduled in the evening time.
Proficiency in Irish gives one access to the fullness of the rich literary and cultural heritage that our lovely nation is built on: our traditions, our music, our history and geography, and even our way of speaking English!
If you are interested in Irish, there is such a variety of master’s courses available that you can afford to be picky and find one to suit your interests and career aspirations.
Positive employment prospects for graduates ‘le Gaeilge’
March 7, 2017
Whether you have gaeilge líofa or gaeilge bhriste, a postgrad “as Gaeilge” could be the masters for you.
New employment opportunities have emerged in recent years for graduates with skills in the language, especially since the introduction of the Official Languages Act 2003 and the recognition of Irish as an official working language in the European Union.
Students seeking to study through Irish are attracted by the prospect of well-paid jobs interpreting and translating texts and legislation into Irish in the EU’s institutions, mainly in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg.
Currently, State bodies, including Government departments, are obliged to include no less than 6 per cent Irish speakers on panels.
One-fifth of places on public service application panels will be filled by people able to speak Irish fluently, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has previously pledged.
Foras na Gaeilge said there were 182 barristers who had registered that they could provide a service in Irish and that at least 194 translators were accredited by Foras na Gaeilge.
Foras na Gaeilge recently attended the GradIreland fair in the RDS Dublin, where it spoke to second-level and third-level students who had fluent Irish at one stage, but might have lost their proficiency over time.
Anna Davitt, communications officer with Foras na Gaeilge, said students were eager to find out how they could re-engage with Irish professionally and personally, and to know what opportunities were available to them.
Advantage
Davitt says students are keen to find out how Irish gives them an advantage in terms of employability and additional skills.
“There was a lot of interest in the area of translation, particularly in regard to the EU recruitment drive for translators and lawyer-linguists with fluent Irish. We had a lot of interest from students visiting Ireland from abroad who were already learning Irish or interested in learning Irish. We provided an insight into working in the areas of Irish language media, translation and interpretation, language planning, law, culture and the arts, the public sector and education,” says Davitt.
Foras na Gaeilge recently launched its Do Ghairm le Gaeilge (Your Career with Irish) awareness campaign in association with Grad Ireland.
This campaign is aimed at undergraduates and will seek to draw attention to the benefit of working with bilingualism and fluency in Irish in the workplace, whether by encouraging students to mention Irish language competency on their CVs when applying for posts, using their Irish in the jobs they will have in the future, choosing postgraduate degrees in Irish, as well as applying for jobs in the Irish language sector.
Chief executive of Foras na Gaeilge, Seán Ó Coinn, said he hoped the campaign would influence young people as they considered the long-term relationship they would have with the language.
“We would like to show students how worthwhile it is to develop their fluency so they understand the various possibilities for working in different areas through Irish, including teaching, translation, law and media,” he said.
Foras na Gaeilge has produced a guidebook online that gives practical advice and valuable information on training courses and work opportunities through the Irish language.
Different fields
Online material has been developed, including videos of interviews with careers ambassadors from different fields in which they describe the advantage the Irish language has given them in their working life to date.
Dr Cathal Billings is a lecturer in modern Irish at the School of Irish at UCD, which offers the popular MA in Scríobh agus Cumarsáid, aimed at writing and communications, media studies, translation and interpreting; and the MA in modern Irish, which is geared towards literature and language
Dr Billings says the MA in Scríobh agus Cumarsáid is attractive to students from diverse backgrounds.
“Most of our students would come from doing a BA with Irish as a main subjects, while a lot of students come from doing a BA in modern languages. They might have done other languages than Irish, but they have competency and aptitude for languages so they can come into the course,” he says.
Billings says students who haven’t engaged with the Irish language since school should not be deterred from doing a postgrad through Irish.
“If someone hasn’t done Irish in their undergraduate degree, they can do an entrance exam and an interview to assess their level of Irish. We get people from all kinds of undergrads; from medical to psychology students who come back to do a master’s in Irish. We get a lot of teachers returning to study and a lot of professionals from a wide range of areas who want to reskill with Irish,” says Billings.
“We currently have a student on the MA in Scríobh agus Cumarsáid that works with a tech multinational who has French and Spanish for her job, but wants to take Irish in order to do translation,” he says.
Billings says while the MA in Scríobh agus Cumarsáid is aimed at people who want to work in translation jobs in the Irish language unit in the European Commission, council or parliament, students have gone in different directions.
Media
“We have had quite a lot students taking jobs in the Irish language media . . . RTÉ, Radio na Gaeltachta, TG4, Irish language administration or Irish language promotion bodies, Conradh na Gaeilge and government bodies,” he says.
“We assess every student’s level of Irish before they come into the course because every course is taught through the medium of Irish and we expect a high level of fluency.
“We have language classes that can help students, but a 2.1 degree in a modern Irish in your undergrad would be the most desirable level, but we also have people coming back to do masters who have not done Irish since the Leaving Cert,” he says.
The following is a selection of available postgraduate courses.
Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG)
Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) is a system of general Irish language proficiency examinations and qualifications for adult learners of Irish. It is administered by the Centre for Irish Language at Maynooth University. TEG exams give candidates an opportunity to show their ability in speaking, listening, reading and writing Irish at different levels, from absolute beginner to intermediate and advanced levels. Exams are offered at five levels and are taken each year by candidates with various levels of fluency. Candidates also have the option of taking the oral exam only, with a view to gaining specific certification in the spoken language.
As well as being the preferred method for learners to make progress in the language, a number of organisations now use TEG exams in recruitment and selection procedures as a means of ensuring that potential employees/students have the required language skills. These include the Public Appointments Service, the Department of Education and Skills, the Teaching Council and the Fulbright Commission. See teg.ie for more
Fiontar agus Scoil na Gaeilge at DCU
Dublin City University’s Fiontar (Venture) is an interdisciplinary school established in 1993 to link the Irish language with contemporary finance, computing and enterprise, through courses taught in Irish.
MSc i nGnó agus i dTeicneolaíocht. (MSc in Business and Information Technology) This programme provides an opportunity for students to add to the broad educational and work expertise they already possess by gaining IT and business skills that will equip them for the workplace in either the public or private sector.
It is recognised by the Higher Education Authority under the graduate skills conversion programme. This means that EU students pay fees of about €2,950, instead of the usual postgraduate degree fees of about €6,500.
The programme can be taken on either a full-time or a part-time basis. Students studying full-time will normally complete the programme in one academic year (two semesters). Part-time students will usually complete the programme in two years over 10-12 weekends on campus.
MA i Léann na Gaeilge (MA in Irish) This programme focuses on the development of Irish in contemporary society and issues related to language planning. The programme includes training of staff who work in the public, voluntary and private service in the development and application of language policy.
The course focuses on the legislative framework of the Official Languages Act 2003 and on the provision of services through Irish .
Candidates will usually have a primary honours degree (not necessarily in the Irish language) or have equivalent prior learning and relevant work experience (about three years), according to the normal requirements of the university.
Candidates will register initially for the graduate certificate. A satisfactory level of fluency and accuracy in the Irish language is required (of approximately Leaving Certificate honours level), which will be assessed by interview.
Gaelchultúr – Coláiste na hÉireann
Coláiste na hÉireann is the first Irish language third-level institute. It came into existence in the summer of 2013 when Gaelchultúr was awarded the status of third-level college by Hetac.
The Dioplóma Iarchéime san Aistriúchán course runs for three semesters and is aimed at those who already have a good standard of Irish but who wish to learn translation skills or to enhance the skills they already have. It is also ideal for those who work through Irish on a daily basis – teachers and journalists, for example – who wish to improve their standard of writing in the language. The course will also benefit those who are interested in working as a translator, administrator or lawyer-linguist in one of the EU institutions. Further information about the dioplóma programme, and the course brochure and application form, are available at www.gaelchultur.com. The deadline for applications for the upcoming course is Tuesday, September 1st.
Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge /NUIG
NUI Galway’s Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge was developed to deliver university education through the medium of Irish. The underlying philosophy of Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge is to provide for the specific needs of Irish speakers and Gaeltacht communities through the promotion of academic programmes, courses and research activities in areas that are seen as being of vital importance to the future of these communities.
NUI Galway offers two Irish postgraduate opportunities. MA sa Nua-Ghaeilge will give students an advanced understanding of various aspects of Irish language studies including the language itself, literature, culture and history.
The course gives students a grounding for those considering doing doctoral research in Irish in the future. The programme is available two days a week over one academic year (full-time).
The MA in Conference Interpreting (Ateangaireacht Chomhdhála) is the only dedicated Irish language master’s programme in conference interpreting in Ireland.
This programme is in demand due primary to the Irish language status as an official language within the European Union – a development that has seen a dramatic increase in job vacancies in the EU for those with recognised qualifications in Irish language interpreting and translation skills.
Training is provided by practising professionals in both modes of conference interpreting. Irish, English, French, Spanish, Italian and German have been offered on the programme to date.
The MA programme in Language Studies (LéannTeanga) is offered as a full-time course over one year or as a two-year part-time programme through blended learning. While studying subjects such as research methodologies, academic writing and professional communication, the course offers two specialist streams: language planning and translation studies.
Language planning has emerged as an applied academic branch of the linguistic disciplines and primarily concentrates on the development of the strategic requirements and interventions of a language community. The demand for qualified translators makes this an attractive programme for those looking to gain swift employment in this area.
NUI Galway also offers an MA in Communications, which includes modules in broadcasting and radio and television journalism, with a strong emphasis on practical skills and work experience. The programme will be available as a full-time course over one year or as a two-year part-time programme. Places on all of the programmes are limited to 15 applicants and begin in September 2016.
DIT
Dublin Institute of Technology offers an MA in Applied Irish in conjunction with Gaelchultúr Teoranta. The MA in Applied Irish is focused on employees of the public sector who will work through Irish in the future and graduates who want to work in Ireland and Europe.
The course is suitable for those who wish to work as translators, interpreters, linguists, proofreaders and in tourism. Candidates must have a degree of 2.2 or higher, with Irish as one of their subjects at undergraduate level or be able to demonstrate a level of competence in Irish.
TCD
Students may read for a research degree, reading towards an MLitt (one-three years) or a PhD (two-five years). The college also runs a Postgraduate Diploma in Old Irish and an MPhil in Early Irish.
UCD
MA: Scríobh agus Cumarsáid na Gaeilge places focus on language, critical theory, translation, journalism and technology for students wishing to seek employment in education, research or State bodies.
UCC
The university offers a taught postgraduate course in Modern Irish (Nua- Ghaeilge). Applicants are required to have an honours BA degree with at least a 2.1 in Irish. The course, which includes modules on literature in Irish, Irish language and Irish manuscripts and palaeography, runs for one year (full-time) or two years (part-time).
The college also offers a (full-time) Level nine postgraduate Diploma in Irish Language and European Law. The course is run by the department of modern Irish in collaboration with the school of law and is aimed at students seeking specialised training in European law as well as in-depth Irish language skills. Graduates will be well placed to apply for positions within the European Commission and European Parliament upon completion.
Gaeltacht education reform must focus on language crisis
March 7, 2017
Pupils must be helped to use Irish socially, not just in the classroom
It has been something of a wait: the first education policy for the Gaeltacht (2017-2022) was recently published by the Department of Education and Skills.
We hope the policy will encourage the State to refocus its overall policy on the crisis of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht.
It provides formal criteria by which schools in the Gaeltacht can be recognised as designated Irish-medium schools.
It may also encourage the pro-active management of schools to support the Gaeltacht community and identity, if implemented with sincerity. This would be a new departure for the State’s language policy.
Up to now there has been a laissez-faire vacuum in which schools operated an Irish-medium policy only if it accorded with their educational philosophy; if there were a high number of Irish-speaking pupils in the school; and if the teaching staff had the required proficiency in Irish.
For the first time, the policy differentiates between the needs of native Irish speakers and the needs of learners of Irish, ie English speakers.
This is a welcome dose of reality and an honest depiction of the many obstacles to education provision in the endangered Gaeltacht.
Two challenges
The overall vision of the new policy is ambitious but the mechanisms to implement it are ambiguous. To be effective the policy has to overcome two primary challenges.
Firstly, there is the issue of how to integrate English speakers into Irish-medium schools.
We cannot afford to send our daughter to university. What are her options?
The policy recognises that English usually dominates in interactions outside the classroom. This means that Irish speakers lack, as individuals and as a group, peer socialisation in their native language.
But the policy offers no targeted solutions to this dominant social use of English. It focuses on in-class supports for Irish, which is already the case in most Irish-medium Gaeltacht schools.
It needs to go further, and support the social use of Irish among pupils. A Gaeltacht school is surely one in which home speakers of Irish are allowed and encouraged to socialise in their first language.
Secondly, there is the challenge of how to integrate a Gaeltacht school into a Gaeltacht community.
The publication of the education policy provides a much-needed impetus to revisit the well-documented deficiencies in the 20-year strategy regarding the social vision for the Gaeltacht.
Without a cohesive and integrated alignment between schools and community, the policy will be ineffective.
Unfortunately, the articulation between the community and the schools via local language plans, backed by Údarás na Gaeltachta, is convoluted and divorced from power.
In order for such plans, which include the designated Gaeltacht school, to be effective, a lot of joined-up thinking and effective implementation is required.
A bureaucratic danger inherent in the new policy is that the numerous committees could become irrelevant talking shops which merely mask the decline of the Gaeltacht and would risk causing further cynicism in communities.
These two issues are sensitive and complex, but they need to be clarified if there is to be any hope of success.
Socialisation
Given that the Gaeltacht is now in decline, if it is to be revived by the new education policy and language plans, then two challenges above need to be addressed as follows:
Irish-language socialisation in Gaeltacht schools. Only schools where socialisation is through Irish can be meaningfully designated as successful Gaeltacht schools. If children do not use Irish among themselves it is almost impossible for individuals to speak well, and thus, for Irish to be the communal language of their peer group.
The vibrant use of Irish in the schoolyard by children far outweighs so much else. Children’s social use of Irish is the best indicator of the vitality of Irish and the future resilience of the community who speak and support it.
Dynamic integration of Gaeltacht school policy with communal policy will ensure the social, educational and economic benefits of membership in the Gaeltacht community.
The vision of an integrated language and community revival is the next logical step. Sufficiently empowered Gaeltacht communities could use integrated educational and communal strategies as a mechanism for revival.
If it addresses the two major faultlines we have outlined, the new Gaeltacht education policy can provide the opportunity for supporting re-empowered communities to bring about a renewed linguistic and social identity in a revived Gaeltacht.
Conchúr Ó Giollagáin (University of the Highlands and Islands, Scotland) and Brian Ó Curnáin (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies) recently published Beartas Úr na nGael: Dálaí na Gaeilge san Iar-Nua-Aoiseachas (A New Deal for Gaels: Irish in Postmodernity) (Leabhar Breac)
