The aim of this study was to investigate pupils' experiences of learning the Irish language in English-medium primary schools in Ireland. This presentation will give an overview of the research, where children in first class (7 yrs) and fifth class (11 yrs) were given an opportunity to share their views and experiences using a child-centred methodology. Key findings are summarised and some implications for practice are noted.
The aim of this study was to investigate pupils' experiences of learning the Irish language in English-medium primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. In light of curriculum change and in advance of the implementation of the Primary Language Curriculum (NCCA, 2019) this study generated data on pupils' experiences of learning the Irish language. The study was qualitative, based within the social constructivist paradigm, using child-centred methods. The participants were children in first (7 year olds) and fifth class (11 year olds) in three English-medium primary schools using whole class and small group activities. This focused presentation gives an overview of the research and some findings are outlined, where children viewed their language learning as the passive accumulation of units of language, particularly vocabulary. This study was conducted as part of the EdD programme in Queen's University Belfast.
