Trainee primary school teachers should have to spend the equivalent of at least one academic year being taught in a Gaeltacht college, while all primary school students should be taught Irish and a second subject such as drama through Irish, according to new proposals launched yesterday.
The proposals, put forward by Conradh na Gaeilge in association with the Union of Students of Ireland, the Union of Secondary Students and others , also claim that two syllabuses should be developed for Irish at second level, involving two separate examination papers for the Leaving and Junior Certificates.
This would see an "Irish language" component being taken by all students, requiring the teaching and assessment of skills of understanding, speaking reading and writing; and a second "Irish literature" syllabus taken by all higher level students.
Advocates are seeking all-party support for the proposals in advance of the forthcoming general election.
The policy document unveiled yesterday says that 10 per cent of those attending teacher-training colleges are pupils of Gaeltacht schools or Gaelscoileanna, but are trained primarily through English before frequently returning to teach in Irish-medium schools.Trainee primary teachers spend just three weeks in the Gaeltacht, it also points out.
"It is proposed that all trainee-teachers would spend the equivalent of one academic year in a Gaeltacht college learning about the immersion model in an actual "language-immersion" environment. This would guarantee a satisfactory knowledge of Irish on the part of all teachers in the future," it says. Trainee teachers could stay with Gaeltacht families as part of their immersion, the document also suggests.
"The teaching of Irish in English-medium schools, which cater for over 90 per cent of school goers, produce very few fluent speakers of Irish and the syllabus is often the cause of frustration for students, parents and teachers alike," Conradh na Gaeilge president Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh said yesterday.
"The policy that we are proposing to address this is based on best international practice could be implemented on a phased basis over the lifetime of the next Government."