An Curaclam Nua Sa Ghaeilge

The New Irish Curriculum

The new Primary Irish Curriculum is child-centered, aiming to meet the objectives of language acquisition in a way that best suits the child. It is presented in an interesting and varied way. Based on the communicative approach, it stresses communication in lessons and learning. The child-centered approach means that the subject-matter of lessons is based on the personal needs, interests and experiences of the child, extending to the outer world in ways which relate directly to the child. The ten themes of the Syllabus reflect this. The year's work is organized (for all ages) around these themes: Myself; At Home; At School; Food; Television; Shopping; Pastimes; Clothes; Weather; Special Occasions.

The Curriculum is designed to focus on the following disciplines: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. These threads are necessary to allow children to work independently and to synthesize their learning of a language. While they appear separately on the Curriculum, they are integrated in the classroom during the Irish lessons.

The Listening skill must be developed from an early age in order to help the child to acquire a language. It is honed and developed by the teacher through the use of class lessons, both orally and through the use of the CD which accompanies the textbook. The Curriculum emphasizes Spoken Language, helping the child to communicate. Because the subject-matter is interesting to the child, he/she engages in a positive way with speaking Irish.

As we know from the English Curriculum, children receive another insight into the world around them through Reading. Following extensive research, the current consensus is to avoid reading up to P2 Class Level when the child is learning a second language. This does not mean that no preparation is done for reading before P2, but the child must focus on the mother tongue first before dealing with new sounds like a, ea, e, ea, i, ui, o, u in the printed form. Pre-reading and pre-writing activities are going on in the K (Infant) classrooms from the time the child enters the school at K1. However, the main stress is on understanding and speaking. Writing and Reading in Irish begin formally in P2. From P3 onwards, the children are dealing with short texts which relate directly to their own age and experiences. The four skills are then brought together and combined in Irish lessons, particularly in Mid- to Senior Cycles. The children learn to interpret instructions (whether oral or aural) and answer questions (oral instruction, written comprehension). Reading, speaking and listening are happening simultaneously, while writing is done on a more formal basis, encouraging concentration and silent work.

Assessment of the child's work is ongoing in St. Andrew's College Preparatory classrooms. Apart from formal testing (whether weekly, fortnightly or at end-of-term), the teacher is observing and watching the child's progress each day in the classroom. Observation, flexibility and adaptability form the cornerstones of assessment, as the teacher helps the child to improve in all areas of work. Aural and oral exercises will demonstrate the child's interpretive skills in understanding instruction and guidelines; comprehension exercises will show how the child is performing on the page, and reading aloud will fine-tune pronunciation and phonetics. Grammar and Spelling are necessary too, if the child is to move on to the next level (whether within the Preparatory Department or into the Senior School) with confidence.

Irish is a core subject on the National Programme for Education, and the teachers in St. Andrew's College Preparatory Department have a duty of care to the children to provide them with an adequate preparation for the Senior School. With the new Primary Irish Curriculum in place, we are confident that the children will be ready for the Oral, Aural, Reading and Written elements of the Senior School Irish Curriculum as they make the transitions from Primary to Secondary education.