Abstract :
‘Languages Connect’ launched by the Irish government in December 2017 is a language policy aiming to increase the uptake of foreign languages in all education institutions – from primary to secondary and higher level - in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) (Department of Education and Skills, 2017). To combat a decline in Irish students graduating with foreign language skills and in the wake of Brexit and further globalisation, the Irish government has worked in collaboration with business and society partners to orchestrate a reversal of the decline and have thus published ‘Languages Connect’ (e.g., Irish Business and Employers Confederation, 2014).
The aim of this paper is to examine how the actual situation in terms of language policy and language teaching and learning in the higher education sector, specifically in Institutes of Technology (IoTs) and Technological Universities (TUs) who are former IoTs in the RoI, may be in conflict with ‘Languages Connect’. This paper will investigate the changes that have occurred when it comes to language provision since the launch of ‘Languages Connect’ in 2017 by examining the data from two snapshots conducted respectively in spring 2018 and spring 2019. The discussion will focus on trends and possible solutions to the combat the decline of language learning and teaching in the institutions studied. It will also examine solutions to reconcile language policy within IoTs and TUs to match the goals of ‘Languages Connect’.
