Irish in schools

whassupp2

Should irish be compulsory

oRlyYaRly

An option in secondry. Like latin.

BMH

To LC.
"Tír gan teanga, tír gan ainm"

Slippin Jimmy

oRlyYaRly wrote:

An option in secondry. Like latin.

Latin wasn't an option for me . I was forced to do it. Anyway, I think it should be compulsory up till the JC and it should then become an option. If you want to take it, fair enough, but if you don't its your choice.

Twinkle-star15

Personally, I think it should be compulsory to leaving cert and a hell of a lot harder, so that we learn more, but loads of my friends hate Irish (don't quite understand it, but...) and I don't see the point of forcing them to learn it when they really detest it, because a) the people who continue with it will like it so they'll learn more, and b) it's a dying language anyway. It's been in decline since the Famine, really.

Edit: Meant to say that it should be compulsory to junior cert.

BMH

What needs to be done is simply change the LC curriculum. No one likes 100 peoms to learn off, and it's completely useless. More focus should be put on Aurals and Orals with unseen fiction, unseen poetry and an essay/scéal to make up the rest.

Jello

I think it should be compulsory until the Junior Cert and then, fair enough, it can be dropped. Like TwinkleStar said, it's a dying language and there's not much use for it anymore.

disney

Totally agree with Jello and Twinkle star!!

I must admit it is nice to have irish it gives a rael sense of who u are and where u come from, that said wen are u ever going to need to be able to describe the feelings of an author as he writes a poem as gaeilge

Complusary til JC, optional afer that!!!

tolosenc

BMH wrote:

"Tír gan teanga, tír gan ainm"

ehh.... that should be:
"tír gan teanga, tír gan ANAM"
a country with out a language is a country without a soul, not without a name.

Gaeilge should be compulsory to LC, it's what makes us irish, if we loose it we won't be able to get it back, and then we'll be sorry.

I agree that the curriculum needs to be changed, more emphasis on the actual language than the prós and filíochta. That stuff is just dull.

There are far better arguments supporting keeping Gaeilge compulsary than English or Maths. Being able to speak some Irish is of far more use to you in later life than knowing reems and reems of Shakespeare or how to find, theoretically, the angle between two lines on a Cartesian Plain.

You could go to the Gaeltacht (there is no "w" in it, for those of you oblivivous to pronouncing it correctly. Gwaletuckt=BAD) for a holiday and use your cúpla focail, but unless you becaome an english or a maths teacher.....

Piste

What dialect of Irish to you speak?

JSK 252

obl wrote:

ehh.... that should be:
"tír gan teanga, tír gan ANAM"
a country with out a language is a country without a soul, not without a name.

Gaeilge should be compulsory to LC, it's what makes us irish, if we loose it we won't be able to get it back, and then we'll be sorry.

I agree that the curriculum needs to be changed, more emphasis on the actual language than the prós and filíochta. That stuff is just dull.

There are far better arguments supporting keeping Gaeilge compulsary than English or Maths. Being able to speak some Irish is of far more use to you in later life than knowing reems and reems of Shakespeare or how to find, theoretically, the angle between two lines on a Cartesian Plain.

You could go to the Gaeltacht (there is no "w" in it, for those of you oblivivous to pronouncing it correctly. Gwaletuckt=BAD) for a holiday and use your cúpla focail, but unless you becaome an english or a maths teacher.....

Abosolutely correct. What is the point in shakespeare and novels and poems?
I prefer irish to english.I find it easier even though i dont live in the gaeltacht.

Piste

JSK 252 wrote:

Abosolutely correct. What is the point in shakespeare and novels and poems?

Art? A desire to express ones innermost thoughts and feelings in a creative and original way?

Twinkle-star15

But if Gaeilge is compulsory to LC, what happens to all those people who totally wreck your class by hating every second of it? They're the people who don't make any effort and talk throughout the entire class, which really pisses me off, because I don't know everything but would still like an A.

Sorry, it's just that loads of my friends and people I know really hate it, and I don't see why they should have to continue with it. It's like French (it's compulsory in my school for Junior Cert)- you can give it up if you really hate it, you just have to accept the consequences yourself. Also, if Irish became a choice subject, there would be a decline for a while, but then loads of people would take it, because they don't have to.

tolosenc

Piste, I speak Caighdeán with a Kerry twinge. Why?

Piste

I was just wondering cos I've heard people with different dialects pronounce "Gaeilge" and "Gaeltacht" differently.

philologos

should definetely be compulsory unless you have dyslexia.
Irish is there to help preserve our culture and in some senses makes us really Irish.

but then again I would had done Arabic if I had the choice for LC

philologos

obl wrote:

ehh.... that should be:
"tír gan teanga, tír gan ANAM"
a country with out a language is a country without a soul, not without a name.

Gaeilge should be compulsory to LC, it's what makes us irish, if we loose it we won't be able to get it back, and then we'll be sorry.

I agree that the curriculum needs to be changed, more emphasis on the actual language than the prós and filíochta. That stuff is just dull.

There are far better arguments supporting keeping Gaeilge compulsary than English or Maths. Being able to speak some Irish is of far more use to you in later life than knowing reems and reems of Shakespeare or how to find, theoretically, the angle between two lines on a Cartesian Plain.

You could go to the Gaeltacht (there is no "w" in it, for those of you oblivivous to pronouncing it correctly. Gwaletuckt=BAD) for a holiday and use your cúpla focail, but unless you becaome an english or a maths teacher.....

also just to hear your little rant about the pronounciation of Gaeltacht, and ANAM... we don't all live in Kerry and technically its correct to say it whatever way as long as the pronounciation suits the dialect that you are in. (e.g I have been taught Irish in the Leinster diallect so I will speak it that way)

BMH

It wasn't the pronunciation, I had made a mistake of saying ainm, which is name, not soul.Really, the Caighdeán is what's being pushed for now-a-days anyway.

Nanaki

till LC.
I want to be fluent in my native tongue (and should be) but I resent having to be taught it.
I think that gaelscoils whould be made an option everywhere.
I would have loved to gone to one but there was none in my town.
I know some kids going to the one that has just opened in my town and I think they will have a huge advatage in secondary school.
I also happen to know how much demand there is here in Leitrim for one and that they will have to build a big extension for next year as they will aslo be getting 4 new teachers.
I (assuming it is possible and feasible) would send any possible children I might have to one.

Irish is a dying language and we the people of Ireland are to blame.
Some people will argue otherwise(plantations etc.) and yes they are right but we never made an attempt to keep our language there.

"tír gan teanga, tír gan anam"

BMH

Meh, the advantages and disadvantages of Gaeilscoils are numerous, though mostly disadvantages, such learning Sciences and other subjects through Irish.Also, as there is little demand for textbooks, so there wont be many up to date and good teachers would be rare to come by(as any teacher who can speak the language will be taken on).All for the benefit of being fluent at your native tongue...but struggling at the one used all around you.

stargirl

I think that if they're going to force us to learn irish they shoud just make all schools irish speaking. Because they're obviously doing something wrong if we leave school after 14 years of taught it without being fluent-thats just ridiculous.

Twinkle-star15

But people just aren't interested in Irish. You don't need it unless you're doing state exams (like for the civil service) or unless you want to become a teacher. And even then, you don't REALLY need it- you just need it to pass the exams (except for a primary teacher). So if they placed more emphasis on Irish, and possibly made some form of Irish college compulsory (like after-school classes, rather than staying over, because that's unfair on some people).

And I'd say dyslexics would learn it just as well, as long as the focus was on speaking, and not on reading and verbs/grammar etc.

I also think we need to get proper Irish words, instead of those idiotic so-called 'Irish' words that are really just English words spelt differently. I can understand for new technology, but when the word 'carr' replaced 'gluaisteáin' and 'stop' replaced 'stad'......That's just taking it too far!

Killaqueen!!!

I'm kind of torn on this, because I really wish that we were all fluent in our own language and we should definitely learn it. But I, myself hate the subject (not the language) and find even at Junior Cert level, incredibly difficult. I think it should be compulsory to JC at least, and then have the option.

I was better at Irish in primary school than I am now...

PurpleFistMixer

I think it should be compulsory up to LC, like it is now. I love Irish, and I think it'd be great if everyone spoke it more.
I just think they need to change the syllabus so everyone hates it a little less. Make it more oral-friendly or something. And less grammar-oriented in the exams.

JBoyle4eva

Well, being half-english I don't really have much of a likeness for Irish. I'll never need it really. But I've always done it because I was born in Ireland. It's a subject I never really liked and I love learning languages, apart from Irish.

The course in place in the JC and LC is fine right now, and I feel that it should be compulsory at at least ordinary Level. Hons should be made a little bit easier, and instead of it being a "memory" subject, why not make it more like French/German etc. which are more like conversation subjects.

snickerpuss

BMH wrote:

All for the benefit of being fluent at your native tongue...but struggling at the one used all around you.

Are you really suggesting that people who go to gaelscoils have an inferior command of english? You do realise most who go to gaelscoils speak english at home etc?
If i've misunderstood you then disregard this post.

BMH

snickerpuss wrote:

Are you really suggesting that people who go to gaelscoils have an inferior command of english? You do realise most who go to gaelscoils speak english at home etc?
If i've misunderstood you then disregard this post.

I'm sorry if I'm way off here, but I'm only speaking from personal experience by looking at people in my school get low grades in English while they do fine at everything else. I'm not saying they struggle to speak it, though looking back at my post that's what it came off as.
Sorry

BLARG

to the end of the jc surely.