Young immersion learners’ language use outside the classroom in a minority language context

Abstract

There has been a long history of early Irish language learning in Ireland as a result of Government policy to promote greater use of Irish. All children learn Irish in school from age 4–18 years. The majority learn Irish as a subject, typically for 30–40 minutes per day, and the levels of competence achieved are mostly disappointing. Approximately 6.7% of primary school children learn Irish in an immersion context, however, and these children achieve a high standard of communicative competence. In this paper we examine the impact of Government policy on the transfer of linguistic competence from the classroom to wider society in the context of a minority language that is becoming increasingly marginalised. We draw on data from three studies to explore the relationship between Irish-medium school attendance and the desire and opportunity to use Irish outside of school while attending school, and later as an adult. The first study also investigated students’ attitudes towards learning and using Irish. All three studies examined parents use of Irish in the home and the influence that the language spoken in their home during childhood and the language of their schooling had on their current language practices. Overall, Irish-medium schools are very successful in educating proficient speakers of Irish who have very positive attitudes towards Irish. These positive attitudes and proficiency do not necessarily transfer to use of Irish in the home. While attendance at an Irish-medium school as a child has a positive effect on later use of Irish, when former students become parents, the effect is quite small. The perennial challenge persists in transferring competence in a minority language acquired in school to the home and community.

Educational psychological provision in Irish‐medium primary schools in indigenous Irish language speaking communities (Gaeltacht): Views of teachers and educational psychologists

“…The outcomes highlight the urgent need for recent educational policies related to Gaeltacht schools to be matched by decisive action in the provision of teaching resources/programmes and assessment tools in Irish and staff who are proficient in Irish and sensitive to its regional varieties. Action is required because as Ó Duibhir et al ( 2015 ) points out the future of Irish depends on the total acquisition of Irish by children in Category A Gaeltacht schools.…”

“…In an effort to identify strategies to help stem the decline in the use of Irish among pupils in Gaeltacht schools, a review was conducted by Ó Duibhir et al ( 2015 ) examining heritage language primary education settings abroad which resemble Irish‐medium education (IME) in Category A Gaeltacht schools. A number of examples of effective practices were identified which were linked with good outcomes.…”

“…A number of examples of effective practices were identified which were linked with good outcomes. For example, in the case of the Basque, key factors which had a positive impact on language use within the school context included a high number of native speakers in the school, the school located in a community with a large number of native speakers, a high standard of Basque spoken among teachers and access to events and activities where Basque is used (Ó Duibhir et al, 2015 , p. 35). The provision of funding for training teachers of Basque to organize and promote cultural activities in the school was also identified as important.…”

“…Official statistics from 2016 report that only 76% of Gaeltacht schools function through the medium of Irish (DES, 2016a). Research also indicates a fall in the use of Irish as a medium of communication in Gaeltacht schools (Ó Duibhir et al (2015, p. 9). This shift to the majority language for communication is also attributed to the decline in the use of Irish as a community language (CSO, 2016; Giollagáin et al, 2007; Ó Giollagáin & Charlton, 2015; Péterváry et al, 2014).…”

“…This shift to the majority language for communication is also attributed to the decline in the use of Irish as a community language (CSO, 2016; Giollagáin et al, 2007; Ó Giollagáin & Charlton, 2015; Péterváry et al, 2014). Given the falling levels of Irish use in Gaeltacht communities and in schools, it is not surprising that levels of proficiency in oral Irish among Gaeltacht pupils are reported as having fallen in the last two decades (Harris et al, 2006; Mac Donnacha et al, 2005; Ó Duibhir et al, 2015; Péterváry et al, 2014).…”