Languages at primary level ‘key to job prospects’

IRISH children’s long-term job prospects may be hindered if more than five-out-of-six primary schools do not teach modern languages, top third level educators have warned.

The extension of the Modern Languages in Primary Schools programme, piloted since 1998 but still only involving around 520 of the country’s 3,300 primary schools, is one of the key recommendations in the National Languages Strategy published by the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

Its committee for modern language, literary and cultural studies said the department has not implemented a strategy on foreign languages despite calls for one over the last decade from education bodies, the Council for Europe and the Government’s Expert Group on Future Skills Needs.