Encouraging tone and helpful facts about Irish Medium Education

A chairde, please see below an interesting article that appeared in Belfast’s Irish News.

Le meas, Mike Breen

There have long been discussions about the Irish language, the revival movement is over one hundred years old and there has been some fantastic work carried out promoting events, adult classes, Gaeltacht summer schemes.

All these activities and more have allowed the language to survive, with a small but committed number of language activists able to carry the torch from generation to generation. However, it was not until the founding of the first Gaelscoil or Irish-Medium school, almost 40 years ago, that the language movement in the north really took off.

There is much discussion about the sector and as with everything in the north everyone has an opinion, but here are the facts.

Some 246 pupils sat A-Level last year. Most A-Level students will have a reasonable command of Irish and a percentage of them will continue on to study Irish at degree level. These people are important custodians of the language and will ensure that it continues.

But to be honest, that is a long way from creating a community of speakers that the revivalists foresaw.

Nowadays, due to Gaelscoileanna we have more five-year-old speakers of Irish that we had for over 150 years. These five-year-olds for the most part do not come from homes with Irish. This year there are 458 of them in Primary One, almost double the number of people that sat A-Level. Almost all these little Gaels already have reasonable fluency, indeed in many cases, a greater fluency that many of the students sitting A-Level.

On top of this a rough 'guesstimate' would suggest that about a third to a half of current students sitting A-Level Irish have Irish as a home language or have attended a Gaelscoil at primary and/or post primary level. Indeed, next year, 68 students from Coláiste Feirste alone (the north's only full Irish Immersion post primary College) will be sitting A-Level Irish.

This is set to rise markedly as some 4,000 pupils are attending Irish-Medium Education and this is on the increase.

New communities of active Irish speakers are springing up.

One such community in Carntogher, County Derry has gone from almost no children with Irish 20 years ago to some 70% now fluent in the language. The reason is simple - the community group set up an Irish medium preschool and primary. The same community now has up to 20 families who are raising their children through the language, unthinkable only a few years ago. The revival of the language has revitalised this rural community which now boasts a parent a toddler group, two pre-schools, adult education programmes, a bilingual post office, gift shop, a media company, translation services and other emerging business and community development initiatives. Irish language is now the major source of employment in the area.

A giant step for parents is only a natural progression for children.

There is no doubt that for many parents, the idea of their children being educated through Irish seems crazy. The importance of educational standards and academic results drives the agenda so why would a parent go for Irish-Medium, does it not just add more pressure. Surprisingly the results of this type of education say something else.

Professor Colin Baker, one of the world's foremost experts on bilingual education, recently said that ongoing rigorous research on immersion education as practised in Irish-medium schools shows that children who attend them have significant academic, intellectual and social advantages. Becoming bilingual from an early age literally changes that way we think and perceive things, it effects how the brain is hardwired and it enhances our ability to think. These benefits are lifelong.

Research carried out recently on behalf of the World Bank indicates that children who are educated towards bilingualism from an early age receive a wide range of advantages. Indeed these advantages are so significant that the benefits are likely to be economically advantageous to the whole community as highly educated flexible thinkers are a vital ingredient in the work place.

The parental role for non-Gaelic speaking parents of children attending Irish-Medium schools is not only important but if approached positively is likely to be an enjoyable experience. Do you need to learn the language? Well, that would be good, but what is far more important is that you are supportive in your attitude to your child's experience and that you nurture a healthy attitude to reading and speaking be that in English and/or Irish. Language skills transfers as do positive mindsets!

A recent programme has been piloted to aid parents - it is called Opening Doors - and it deals with issues parents may have and equips them, through fun and easy format, as to how they can nurture their children and really enjoy the journey with them. This programme is now being rolled out throughout the north.

Irish Medium Education offers much more than most of us realise. The sector is now almost 40 years old here and the unique mix of community education it offers looks set to see it continue to grow.

An education backed by the strongest of international research, Irish-Medium Education offers the opportunity for your child to become bilingual, the opportunity for them to come to a real awareness of a Gaelic culture while receiving extra academic and social benefits that will take them through life. In today's world of educational choices surely Irish-Medium Education must be a real option.