Happy Irish students are delighted at range of essays
June 11, 2013
The essay titles were maybe a bit too easy, more like Junior Cert.
An “easy” Irish higher paper divided teachers’ opinions yesterday, but students were delighted with a range of accessible essay topics.
“I was delighted to see them happy coming out of higher Irish,” said Ruth Morrissey of St Michael’s Community College in Kilmihil, Co Clare.
“The students had loads of choice, and would have been well prepared for topics on sport, politics and tourism. We are trying to encourage more students to take Irish at this level and today’s paper was very positive in that regard.”
Too easy
Robbie Cronin of Marian College in Ballsbridge, Dublin, expressed concern that students looking for higher grades may have found the paper too easy. “The essay titles were maybe a bit too easy, more like Junior Cert questions. Students who want an A or B are looking for more of a challenge.”
Movies, holidays and free houses were “dream essay topics” for the 23,000 who sat the ordinary level Irish exam yesterday. More than half of all students taking Irish sit the subject at this level, with a further 3,329 taking the subject at foundation level.
The first part of yesterday’s exam was a listening comprehension that constitutes 10 per cent of the overall grade for Irish. Some ordinary level students complained that the audio was “too fast”.
“Both ordinary and higher level students listen to the same audio, although they are asked different questions,” said Mr Cronin. “Speed is often an issue for the ordinary level students and it’s something that should be looked at. It only counts for 10 per cent but it’s the first part of the exam and it’s unsettling if they can’t follow what they hear. I could see their faces during the exam and you could tell some of them were having difficulty.”
Ms Morrissey said that her higher level students struggled with section C of the aural exam because the speaker used an Ulster dialect. Accessible Overall, however, the written component of the ordinary paper was regarded as accessible, especially the essays.
“The essays were brilliant for the level,” said Mr Cronin. “They would have loved a topic like a party in the free house – the very thing we all dread.
“The letter was a bit more difficult. Many of the students would not have known the Irish for ‘talent show’. They should have used a programme title like The Voice to give the students an indication.
“It was notable that the examiners managed to avoid mentioning modern technology like emails, texts or tweets altogether.”
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