The Irish Times view on Irish language exemptions: protecting a shared experience

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The Irish Times view on Irish language exemptions: protecting a shared experience
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We need to look more broadly at how we teach the language given that so many students leave school with relatively poor standards

The Irish language is a cornerstone of our cultural identity. Yet its place in the education system remains a source of ongoing debate. At the heart of the issue are exemptions granted to students to allow them not to study Irish, which remains a mandatory subject across primary and second level schools.such as learning difficulties or time spent outside the Irish education system – the latter applying predominantly to immigrant children. These exemptions have grown in number.

Critics argue that forcing students to learn Irish risks alienating those who struggle with the subject, creating resentment and anxiety rather than appreciation. They don’t argue the same about, say, Maths. And it is worth interrogating the idea of a quasi-automatic exemption for children from migrant backgrounds, given that many such children, some of them already fluent in several languages, have excelled in Irish at State exams.

In any event, we should ask how the curriculum can better serve diverse learning needs. Differentiated teaching, a greater focus on conversational skills, providing enough qualified teachers and modern technology could all help make Irish more engaging. We also need to look more broadly at how we teach the language given that so many students leave school with relatively poor standards. The blunt instrument of an exemptions system sends the wrong message.

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