Madam, – It has become painfully clear that many students will go to great lengths to avoid learning the Irish language (“Irish-Exempt students study other languages”, April 13th).
As somebody who achieved a higher level A1 in Irish in the 2003 Leaving Certificate, and would consider myself fluent in the language, I am torn. While I enjoyed studying Irish, I acknowledge fully that the benefits of learning it for so many years, and in such depth, end as soon as one completes secondary schooling at the age of 18. As difficult as it may be for many to digest at home, Irish is, to all intents and purposes, a dead language.
Perhaps it is time that the Department of Education reclassified Irish as an “optional” language. Forcing students into learning Irish as a mandatory subject from a young age serves no purpose. It does not keep the language alive, nor does it foster a love of it among our young people.
I work in the international arena in the United States, and in my line of work I would be a more valuable asset were I capable of speaking Mandarin Chinese, Russian or one of the Middle Eastern tongues (Persian, Arabic, etc) to the same level as I can speak Irish. While I have recently turned my hand to the intensive study of two new languages, the task of mastering a new language with consummate fluency becomes much more difficult as one gets older.
The Department of Education should move with the times, stop forcing Irish on our school students, and begin offering more internationally progressive languages from a younger age in schools around the country. – Yours, etc,