ETBI Journal of Education - Vol 2:2 November 2020 (Irish-medium Education)

ETBI Journal of Education November 2020
Linguistic advantages and challenges faced by students from
Gaeltacht and Irish-medium post-primary schools when continuing
to a 3rd level institution where the language of teaching is English
Dr Laoise Ní Thuairisg & Prof. Pádraig Ó Duibhir - Dublin City University
INTRODUCTION
We are grateful to the Comhairle um Oideachas
Gaeltachta agus Gaelscoileanna (COGG) for
providing funding to carry out this project and to
the students and past students who participated.
Only around 50% of students from Irish-medium
primary schools (outside of the Gaeltacht)
transfer to Irish-medium post-primary schools
in the Republic of Ireland. One of the reasons for
this is the anxiety experienced by parents that
their children will be at a disadvantage at third
level because they will not understand Englishlanguage
terminology in various subjects (Ní
Thuairisg & Ó Duibhir, 2016). This research
aims to shed light on the experiences of past
pupils from Irish-medium post-primary schools
within and outside the Gaeltacht, particularly
with regards to the effects of their post-primary
education on their experience of third level
education. An investigation was also carried
out on the expectations of current pupils in
Irish-medium post-primary schools, in order to
compare their expectations with the reported
experiences of past pupils who had already made
the transition.
The main findings of the research are presented
in this article. The full report is available at www.
cogg.ie. The article begins with a short literature
PARTICIPANTS REPORTED
THAT THERE WERE MORE
BENEFITS THAN DISADVANTAGES
ASSOCIATED WITH IRISH-MEDIUM
EDUCATION
review of bilingualism and of the benefits and
challenges associated with bilingualism and
the bilingual education system. The research
methodology is then described. The findings of
the research will then be presented along with
the recommendations arising from those findings.
LITERATURE
Various research from the last forty years
indicates that there are cognitive benefits
associated with bilingualism. These benefits
are linked with a higher executive function in
bilinguals than in monolinguals (Bialystok,
2009) and continue into adulthood and old age
(Bialystok et al., 2006). It has been discovered
that bilingualism can slow the onset of dementia
in old age (Bialystok, 2009). It is hypothesised
that the process of dementia is delayed in
bilingual people because they develop a higher
level of executive function during their lives,
which creates a cognitive reserve and slows the
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