HDip French/Nua Gaeilge in UCC?

Guirimasguiri

Hi everyone. I finished my BA in Spanish and German back in 2016 and have been working as an ESL teacher in Spain ever since. I honestly just applied for the job because I had no idea what I wanted to do after I had finished college and this seemed like an easy way to improve my Spanish and earn some money. However, I soon realized that I had a genuine love and talent for teaching, which makes me want to apply for the PME over the next couple of years. The thing is, at least in my county there are very few schools that offer both Spanish and German, so I'm considering doing the HDip in either French or Nua Gaeilge in UCC to improve my chances of employment. Has anyone got any experience with either of these two courses?

spurious

You would need a degree in them as well as the PME to teach them.

Guirimasguiri

spurious wrote: »

You would need a degree in them as well as the PME to teach them.

I was under the impression that after completing a HDip in one or the other (and spending the required amount of time in France/a gaelteacht) I could go on to do the PME and register with the Teaching Council with that subject?

spurious

This link outlines the qualifications recognised to teach each subject.

https://www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Publications/Registration/Documents/Curricular-Subject-Requirments-after-January-2017a.pdf (.pdf file)

For example for French (this is only part of it):
1. (a) Applicants must hold a degree-level qualification, with French studied up to and including
third-year level or higher (or modular equivalent).
(b) The qualifying degree must be equivalent to at least Level 8 on the National Framework of
Qualifications (NFQ) and with a minimum pass1 result in all examinations pertinent to the
subject of French.
(c) The qualifying degree must carry at least 180 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System)
credits (or equivalent) with the specific study of French comprising at least 60 ECTS
credits (or equivalent) and with not less than 10 ECTS credits (or equivalent) studied at
third-year level or higher (or modular equivalent).

The residential experience and competence requirements are additional.

The TC are the gatekeepers. Sometimes there appears no rhyme or reason to why they accept one degree and not another, but they always look for a degree in the subject.

mtoutlemonde

Guirimasguiri wrote: »

I was under the impression that after completing a HDip in one or the other (and spending the required amount of time in France/a gaelteacht) I could go on to do the PME and register with the Teaching Council with that subject?

It is possible IF you studied French in your degree and need to get the credits, otherwise you need a degree in French.

Guirimasguiri

Unfortunately I haven't formally studied French or Irish since I finished my Leaving Cert. I've gone through some old threads with similar queries and there was a lot of conflicting information. Apparently it can be done if I take 10 ECTS credits worth of first year modules on top of the 60 ECTS points from second/third year modules they offer in the HDip. It's probably best for me to contact the Teaching Council directly and hear it from the horse's mouth.

Thank you to those who responded!

williaint

I think you will be more than fine with German AND Spanish. There is a definite lack of German teachers and examiners, and Spanish is being offered in lots of new schools. I wouldn't waste time and money going back to do another undergraduate degree (as this is the only way to officially meet the TC's requirements in another language).

That's not to say you shouldn't brush up your French or Irish as once you are in a school and show an interest or aptitude for them, you could be asked to teach them. There are at least 3 Irish teachers in my school who are teaching Irish without degrees in it.

A lot more people embark on teaching training with wayyyyyyyy worse subject combinations! Go for it!

mtoutlemonde

Guirimasguiri wrote: »

Unfortunately I haven't formally studied French or Irish since I finished my Leaving Cert. I've gone through some old threads with similar queries and there was a lot of conflicting information. Apparently it can be done if I take 10 ECTS credits worth of first year modules on top of the 60 ECTS points from second/third year modules they offer in the HDip. It's probably best for me to contact the Teaching Council directly and hear it from the horse's mouth.

Thank you to those who responded!

I didn't study in UCC, but I did the evening BA programme which allows someone to teach the subject(s) studied - I had prior study and only required literature.

The Teaching Council won't tell you anything.

It would be an advantage having a diploma in either subject as both are hard to fill positions in certain areas so schools may ask you to teach first/second year classes but you won't get it on your Teaching Council certificate.

As for Teaching Practice, it may not be possible to find schools who offer both Spanish and German (I do know however of at least one) but you have two years PME so I'm sure it would be possible to teach Spanish in year one and German in year two. I would check this with the education department of whatever university/hibernia you intend going to. Also, Spanish is more popular than German.

mtoutlemonde

williaint wrote: »

I think you will be more than fine with German AND Spanish. There is a definite lack of German teachers and examiners, and Spanish is being offered in lots of new schools. I wouldn't waste time and money going back to do another undergraduate degree (as this is the only way to officially meet the TC's requirements in another language).

That's not to say you shouldn't brush up your French or Irish as once you are in a school and show an interest or aptitude for them, you could be asked to teach them. There are at least 3 Irish teachers in my school who are teaching Irish without degrees in it.

A lot more people embark on teaching training with wayyyyyyyy worse subject combinations! Go for it!

Big shout out to the teachers who qualify for CSPE only

gaiscioch

Guirimasguiri wrote: »

Unfortunately I haven't formally studied French or Irish since I finished my Leaving Cert. I've gone through some old threads with similar queries and there was a lot of conflicting information. Apparently it can be done if I take 10 ECTS credits worth of first year modules on top of the 60 ECTS points from second/third year modules they offer in the HDip. It's probably best for me to contact the Teaching Council directly and hear it from the horse's mouth.

Thank you to those who responded!

I know one person who did UCD's Dioplóma sa Ghaeilge Fheidhmeach over two years part-time (Here's what looks like the UCC equivalent). It was worth 20 ECT credits.

They then did the part-time BA in Irish at night, which gives an exit qualification named the Higher Diploma in Arts (Here's what looks like the UCC equivalent). This was composed of 60 credits over two years part-time (two evenings per week) - i.e. 30 credits per academic year. It is possible to do this quicker than two years if, for instance, you will be able to attend courses in other modules that are part of the daytime BA in Irish. Check this with the relevant university.

When they finished this 60-credit Higher Diploma in Arts (Gaeilge), the Teaching Council said they needed evidence that the earlier 20-credit Dioplóma sa Ghaeilge Fheidhmeach was equivalent to 1st year Irish in a BA. The Scoil na Nua-Ghaeilge duly wrote this letter, the candidate put it into the envelope with evidence of both diplomas and the TC added Irish as one of the subjects they were qualified to teach.

Technically, and unlike the above I have no evidence for this, I'd imagine you could do the 60-credit Higher Diploma in Arts and then just choose two 5-credit modules from the 1st year BA in Irish. That would fulfil the need to have at least 10 credits from 1st year Irish. That would be much simpler, faster and cheaper for you. The first difficulty, however, is that it would be harder to get on the Higher Diploma in Arts (Gaeilge) as you wouldn't have the grounding from the other course. You would also have to pass an oral Irish interview so that they could check your standard. And the HDA would be more academically challenging and heavy going. But if you could convince them in the HDA interview that you were able to do it, it would be doable.

Adele94

From the UCC website: - The Higher Diploma in Arts is recognised by the Teaching Council for teacher registration provided candidates have completed modules to the value of at least 60 credits in their chosen subject (80 credits for Music; 90 credits for Physical Education), with not less than 10 credits studied at third-year level or higher. In all cases, before registering for the Higher Diploma in Arts, students are advised to consult the relevant “Subject Declaration Form” on the Teaching Council website to ensure they will meet the Teaching Council requirements for their chosen subject. History: Students intending to register for the additional 10 credits in History in order to satisfy the Teaching Council requirements will register for HI1002 and HI1008. Religious Education: Students wishing to satisfy Teaching Council requirements will take 60 credits of RG courses (selected in consultation with the Programme Coordinator) plus ED6319.

My understanding is that assuming you already have a degree that enables you to teach at least one subject (e.g. business), you can just do the one year add-on (e.g. hdip in French) and that would satisfy the TC and you can eventually teach the two subjects? If you then go on to do the masters in education.. is that correct?

spurious

Adele94 wrote: »

My understanding is that assuming you already have a degree that enables you to teach at least one subject (e.g. business), you can just do the one year add-on (e.g. hdip in French) and that would satisfy the TC and you can eventually teach the two subjects? If you then go on to do the masters in education.. is that correct?

Do you mean be registered to teach French having done a one year diploma?

Adele94

I mean having done the 1 year diploma in french and the masters in education then you will be qualified, assuming you meet all other TC requirements to have teach your subject (the 2 months in a French speaking country etc.).. not sure though

dory

Adele94 wrote: »

I mean having done the 1 year diploma in french and the masters in education then you will be qualified, assuming you meet all other TC requirements to have teach your subject (the 2 months in a French speaking country etc.).. not sure though

Yes I believe you are correct. I looked into this before. I needed to add another subject but couldn't commit to full time study for these HDips. This was almost 10 years ago, I dont know if things have changed. But back then I was told that that one year Dip would suffice. You're basically doing all the undergrad modules you need at once.