Athrú ar Dháta do Chomhdháil Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta
September 26, 2011
Junior Certificate results and Irish
September 21, 2011
Almost 4,300 students did a Junior Certificate Irish oral exam in 2011. Examination results for the Junior Certificate were received by 56,930 students who sat them this year and the statistics published by the Examinations board show interesting results regarding Irish.
A total of 48,349 students sat the Irish Paper (including Higher, Ordinary and Foundation level) last June. 80.6% of 23,931 students achieved a grade A, B or C in the higher level paper. Out of the 22,488 students who sat the ordinary level paper, 77.2% achieved a grade A, B, or C. A total of 76.3% of the 1,930 students who sat the Foundation level paper achieved a grad A, B or C.
The students who sat the Irish Paper in the Junior Certificate were given the option of doing an oral examination. This recently introduced option has seen an increase in students opting to do the oral test. An increase of 2,589 students from 1,687 students in 2010 to 4,276 students in 2011 opted to take the Irish oral exam. An increase was also noted in the amount of schools who offered the oral examination from 54 in 2010 to 94 in 2011.
The increase may be associated with students looking for experience in Irish language oral examinations before sitting the leaving cert which will place a greater emphasis on spoken Irish in the subject. A total of 40% of the marks will now go towards the Irish oral exam at leaving certificate level.
Commenting on the recently published statistics Saffron Rosenstock of Comhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge said ‘ Having oral Irish examinations at Junior Cert is great preparation for students sitting their orals in the leaving cert.’
Gaelport
New immersion education project for Donegal schools
September 6, 2011
A new school year and a new policy-three Gaeltacht primary schools in Donegal have embarked on a new teaching policy which will mean that only Irish will be used in junior classes.
This will mean that children attending junior classes in Scoil Rann na Feirste, Scoil Dhoire Chonaire and Scoil Chaiseal na gCorr will not receive instruction in the English language until senior infants.
Éamonn Mac Niallais, spokesperson for community group Guth na Gaeltachta, believes that this policy not only benefits the Irish language in the area but that it will be of educational benefit for children as well.
“It is very clear from international and national research on immersion education that not only does this system improve the acquisition of the minority language, in this case Irish, but also that it improves standards in both languages in senior classes”, he says.
The policy follows a seminar on immersion education practice for teachers which was held by Eagraíocht na scoileanna Gaeltachta and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta. Training sessions for the board of management and for teachers on Irish language phonetics were also held in recent weeks.
It is is hoped that the new initiative will also take off in seven other Gaeltacht schools in Donegal.
“We have to acknowledge that there is a crisis in even the strongest Gaeltacht areas in terms of the lack of usage by young people of the Irish language in their normal everyday social interactions” says Mac Niallais
©Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 06 Meán Fómhair 2011
Cork communities to discuss the Irish language
September 6, 2011
One of the main objectives of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish language is to increase the number of daily Irish speakers to 250,000, but how many of these will be based in Cork?
Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge will host a public seminar in the Rebel City at the end of the month, to inform members of the public on the objectives of the Strategy, and to put together an action plan in conjunction with the local people, of how to obtain these objectives at a local level. The seminar, which will be held as part of the series; “Irish in Your Area: Your Language, Your Community, Your Choice”, will be held on 28 September, in Gaelcholáiste Choilm in Ballincollig, from 6.30pm-9pm.
A local speaker from UCC will discuss best practice in the area of language planning in urban settings, and a representative of the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairss will discuss the language planning requirements in the Cork area as depicted in the 20 Year Strategy.
Chairperson of the GAA’s National Irish language committee Liam Ó Rinn, will be joined by Jerry Ahern the chairperson of the Niall Ó Cathasaigh branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann, and together they will discuss the methods with which the GAA and Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann aim to promote the Irish language at a grassroots level.
Along with the above speakers, representatives of Cork city and county councils will partake in the seminar, and representatives of locally involved Irish language organisations such as Gael-Taca and Cumann na bhFiann will present their annual action plans for the coming years. Current projects which focus on implementation of the provisions of the Strategy will also be discussed.
Speaking about the seminar, Stiúrthóir of Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, Pádraig Mac Criostail said: “The aim of this series of seminars is to inform the public of the opportunities to promote the Irish language under the 20 year strategy, and to begin the process of building and developing Irish speaking networks in the urban areas”.
To achieve the goals set out in the Strategy, it will be necessary to encourage non-Irish speakers to use the language. Everyone is welcome to attend this seminar, whether they have no Irish at all, have rusty Irish from school, or wish to raise their own children through Irish, this fully bilingual seminar will cater for all.
Registration for the seminar is free, and people planning to attend should email their contact details to Cillian de Búrca, cillian@comhdhail.ie to receive further information. Two further seminars in this series will be held later in the year, in Limerick on 21 November, and in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford on 23 November.
©Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 06 Méan Fómhair 2011
Gaeltacht Education Conference
September 6, 2011
Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta, the national representative for parents and teachers in all Gaeltacht areas, will host their annual conference on education matters, and their AGM, on Saturday, 1st October in the Ardilaun Hotel, Galway.
Among those speaking at the conference will be Deirbhile Nic Craith, (INTO) who will discuss the employment implications of merging small schools. Maolsheachlainn Ó Caollaí will discuss the Irish language at Leaving Certificate level, and Muireann Ní Mhóráin, (COGG) will speak on the topic of Gaeltacht pupils and the state exams. Special educational needs, and the current issues in this area as they relate to Gaeltacht schools will also be discussed on the day.
An election will be held as part of the AGM, to choose the General Directors of the organisation, and the Committee of Officers will be chosen from the elected directors, after the first meeting of the new board.
The aim of Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta is to strengthen Irish medium education in Gaeltacht schools. Further information about the organisation, or the conference is available from Treasa Ní Mhainín at oifig@esg.ie.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 06 Meán Fómhair 2011
Irish careers roadshow to visit North-West
August 24, 2011
The north-west is the destination of choice for the first round of the next series of the Irish language careers events seminars, ‘Buntáiste Breise na Gaeilge’ which focus on career and educational opporuntities in the Irish language sector.
The careers seminar which is aimed at senior students at second level will take place in Carrick-on-Shannon on October 11th and will visit Carickmacross on October 12th.
Up until now Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge have organised many of these seminar all over the country. To date, An Chomhdháil has held these seminars in Killarney, Dublin, Galway, Cork, Castlebar, Belfast, Letterkenny, and Tullamore.
‘The Added Advantage of Irish’ is the theme of the seminar, and guest speakers and well-known personalities will speak on the advantages which the Irish language has afforded them in their chosen careers.
As part of the seminars, questions from the students are welcomed, which give rise to lively debate about such subjects as the future of the language, Gaeltacht status, Irish as a compulsory subject, Irish at third level, and the Government’s support for the language.
Representatives from third level institutions attend with exhibition stands to inform students of the various Irish language courses available to them after they leave school.
These seminars which have been organised since 2009 have proven to be a great success with over 86 secondary school schools and up to 2,680 students all over the Ireland attending.
Further information http://www.gaelport.com/bbnag.
©Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 23 Lúnasa 2011
Demand for Irish Courses at University level remains consistent
August 24, 2011
Demand for Irish language courses at universities across the country remains consistent, despite the economic slowdown.
There was little of no change in the number of points required for many courses listed in the first round of CAO offers announced yesterday which have Irish as a joint subject or where Irish is the primary language of instruction.
However some Irish language broadcasting courses and journalism courses did see a significant increase from last year.
Journalism and Media
Points for the Journalism and Irish course in Dublin City University jumped to 465 points this year, up 15 points on last year. Simimlarly in NUI Galway, there was an increase in the number of pointe required for the Arts (communications) Degree. Demand for the Irish language and Media degree in the University of Limerick also jumped by thirty points from last year’s figure of 370.
Education
There was s slight fall in points for education courses at the training colleges however St Patrick’s College Drumcondra bucked that trend where there was a slight increase in the number of points required by Gaeltacht applicants (440 points).
Arts
Similarly Arts courses noticed a slight decrease this year overall with courses such as Arts in University College Cork falling by five points to 345 with a similar decrease in UCD (440 points).
However there was an increase in the number of points required for NUI Galway’s Degree in Arts (Translation Studies) which jumped to 405 points.
Business and Commerce
There was a slight dip here also. The number of points required for entry to UCC for the Commerce and Irish degree fell from 450 points to 440 points. Applicants needed 330 points for DCU’s Irish and business course, a drop of 10 points from last year. 410 points would have seen applicants to WIT’s Irish language and business programme receive an offer in the first round.
Law
There was a slight dip in courses such as Law and Irish in University College Cork which this year required applicants to have 500 points to ensure a first round offer.
Other courses
However for those who may have been disappointed by offers made to them in yesterday’s first round, there are still other options open to them. DIT is offering direct entry on a new BA Course in Irish in the workplace. Further information available from the school of languages www.dit.ie/schooloflanguages.
©Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 23 Lúnasa 2011
Lámh cúnta do thuismitheoirí- leabhrán úr seolta
August 18, 2011
Comhghairdeas le Rang na hArdteiste 2011
August 17, 2011
An dátheangachas i bpobail mhionteanga á scrúdú i leabhar nua
August 10, 2011
