Say Yes to Languages Continues for Another Year!
APRIL 2023: Primary Language Sampler Module, Say Yes to Languages, is being made available for another year as Minister for Education Norma Foley invites schools across Ireland to register to take part in the 2023/2024 school year, as outlined in Department of Education Circular 0021/2023
The module has been met with overwhelming enthusiasm with over 800 schools involved in the first two years. ‘Say Yes To Languages’ offers an introduction into a variety of modern foreign languages and Irish Sign Language (ISL) while also looking to raise awareness among pupils of the diversity of languages being used by their peers in their schools and community.
The number of languages chosen by schools has risen from 13 in in the first year, to 15 in 2022/23 including Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Irish Sign Language, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Tamil, and Ukrainian.
Speaking about Say Yes to Languages, Minister for Education Norma Foley said: “Language is one of the key means by which we think, express our thoughts, communicate and connect with others. Through introducing a Modern Foreign Language or Irish Sign Language in their classroom, schools can enrich pupils’ awareness of diverse cultures in our communities, in Ireland and internationally and support pupils’ development, active citizenship, inclusion and future learning and employment opportunities.
“It has been very heartening to see so many primary schools signing up to participate in the Say Yes to Languages module over the past two years and the wide range of languages they have chosen, including Ukrainian. I am delighted to now be inviting schools to apply to take part in 2023 / 2024 and encourage them to avail of this opportunity.
“Learning a Modern Foreign Language will form part of the primary school experience for pupils over the coming years, in line with the newly-published Primary Curriculum Framework. The future inclusion of foreign languages in the primary curriculum will be informed by the delivery of Say Yes to Languages and we look forward to another successful running of the module in 2023/24.”
Schools are supported by Languages Connect | PPLI (Post-Primary Languages Ireland), a unit of the Department of Education in the role out of Say Yes to Languages, with a suite of resources being made available to participating schools as well as grants of €400 per classroom up to a maximum of €1,600 per school. Teachers can be class teachers or members of the community who express interest in teaching the module. The module runs for eight weeks across one academic term and takes place within the normal timetable. The weekly hour lessons can be taken as one, or a combination of shorter classes across the week to make up the hour.
Help your school Say Yes To Languages by visiting languagesconnect.ie/primary to find out more or reach out to the Say Yes to Languages team at primary@ppli.ie. Registration for any interested schools closes Friday 12 May at 5pm
