Madam, - In her lively article on Japanese in Transition Year (November 19th), Louise Holden referred to 22 schools offering the language and "at least three" classes preparing for the Leaving Certificate.
To set the record straight, there are 56 schools offering Japanese in Transition Year. The students pictured and quoted are members of a pilot Leaving Certificate class drawn from a number of schools in the Dublin area who, in 2004, will sit the first Leaving Certificate examination in Japanese based on the new two-year syllabus. There are seven more Leaving Certificate classes running in schools in other locations.
The take-up of Italian and Spanish has also increased apace since the year 2000, when the Post-Primary Languages Initiative began offering support to schools introducing additional languages either in Transition Year or in the mainstream curriculum. - Yours, etc.,
BRÍDÍN GILROY, National Co-ordinator, Post-Primary Languages Initiative, Marino Institute of Education, Dublin 9.