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Indeed Mark Send a noteboard - 24/09/2010 06:23:52 PM
Thirteen years with so little to show for it? I'll be the first to admit that some students here emerge from secondary school after eight years of French with a rather poor command of the language, and no doubt Irish is harder than French. But if it's as general a failure as you say, that's pretty bad.


It is indeed. For example the main opposition party just appointed someone as their spokesperson for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht (including Irish language) affairs who doesn't even speak Irish The problem is that the vast majority of people will never speak a word of Irish outside of school so it's hard to develop your ability. Also many of the principal promoters of the language come across as having a holier than thou attitude which does Irish no favours.

The fact that it is compulsory also seems to cause a build up of resentment in a lot of people who dislike the fact that they are forced to learn it when they are never going to use it.

Hold on, just thought of something - are you saying they have Irish classes from the very first year of primary school? As in, they learn to read in English and Irish simultaneously? Now that's ambitious...


Yup, once you enter formal education (at age four or five) you are thought both English and Irish

It's not really surprising and as I speak neither French nor German I guess I should be thankful.

Well, maybe if it was less strong, you'd have been forced to do more with your French and would speak it more fluently now?


Perhaps, but my experience of trying to use my French in Paris once fairly much put me off. I still use it when I go on holidays and I generally have good enough French to ask for stuff in a shop or restaurant but I wouldn't be up to holding a full conversation.
Once known as Hochopepa

You cannot kill a vampire with an MDF stake; werewolves can't fly; zombies do not run. - Simon Pegg
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/Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 24/09/2010 01:37:42 PM 1228 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 01:49:32 PM 659 Views
Answering the survey myself... - 24/09/2010 02:04:39 PM 657 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:10:57 PM 642 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:20:45 PM 780 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:24:01 PM 667 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 02:14:52 PM 698 Views
We have a similar situation in Belgium. - 24/09/2010 02:32:25 PM 567 Views
It is all double dutch to me - 24/09/2010 02:41:41 PM 644 Views
Hah! - 24/09/2010 06:58:49 PM 726 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 03:32:09 PM 595 Views
That is rather sad to say the least. - 24/09/2010 04:15:32 PM 831 Views
Indeed - 24/09/2010 06:23:52 PM 633 Views
That's just Paris being a city of nasty people. - 24/09/2010 06:32:40 PM 783 Views
I never noticed that - 24/09/2010 07:05:18 PM 670 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 04:00:04 PM 711 Views
I didn't mean just in Sweden, or Scandinavia. - 24/09/2010 04:19:32 PM 691 Views
Well... - 24/09/2010 10:50:09 PM 605 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 05:47:09 PM 671 Views
Interesting. - 24/09/2010 06:04:30 PM 622 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 06:42:02 PM 766 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 07:05:44 PM 676 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 07:21:24 PM 803 Views
Re: Interesting. - 24/09/2010 08:18:30 PM 656 Views
Re: Interesting. - 25/09/2010 08:02:30 PM 718 Views
American who just got a C+ on a French quiz reporting in. - 24/09/2010 06:09:31 PM 727 Views
What was it on? - 24/09/2010 06:22:35 PM 634 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe - 24/09/2010 06:16:22 PM 581 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 24/09/2010 09:38:05 PM 769 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 25/09/2010 05:49:05 AM 750 Views
Real quick - 25/09/2010 12:03:51 PM 726 Views
Self-study can be worth as much as formal classroom study, I suppose - 25/09/2010 03:43:14 PM 728 Views
Certainly it can. - 26/09/2010 12:35:56 PM 728 Views
You know, gen eds typically include a language. *NM* - 26/09/2010 07:28:57 PM 285 Views
Yes, but other things as well. - 26/09/2010 08:08:20 PM 668 Views
Interesting - 27/09/2010 03:14:00 AM 830 Views
Re: Interesting - 27/09/2010 11:04:37 AM 732 Views
You don't have to prove it's economically valid? - 27/09/2010 08:31:46 PM 745 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 25/09/2010 04:54:40 PM 869 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 25/09/2010 07:38:29 PM 791 Views
The amount of German is more surprising. - 25/09/2010 07:55:29 PM 542 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 26/09/2010 12:07:19 AM 812 Views
They should have asked about second languages rather than foreign languages. - 26/09/2010 11:34:27 AM 647 Views
Aye, they should have. - 26/09/2010 12:26:51 PM 766 Views
Re: /Survey: Foreign language knowledge in Europe (and elsewhere) - 27/09/2010 03:18:30 PM 708 Views

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