Bilingualism/Language Immersion
An Ghaeilge is the principal language of the school and both languages are interspersed in the bilingualism of Irish culture. Throughout the country An Ghaeilge is evident in our placenames and surnames-names of towns, rivers, mountains and lakes. An Ghaeilge has left its mark on the spoken English of Ireland, in its nuances and rhythm.
An Ghaeilge is taught not only as a school subject but also as an everyday communicative language. A primary aspect of our education system is that the children learn two languages from the start of their schooling. The support of society and the whole school community is needed if the children are to preserve this linguistic diversity for future generations.
Bilingualism helps the cognitive and social development of the child. The child thus gains a further outlook on life. S(h)e will learn how to cope with two vocabularies, two grammatical systems and differing phonic codes. All this enables the child to arrive at a richer understanding of life, e.g. Diverse thinking, concept development and further language acquisition. Irish is spoken in the environs of the school, in the classroom, in the school yard, and at all school occasions.
As you have chosen an all Irish School for your child it is expected that each family will make every effort to promote the language at school and at home.