Education Minister Norma Foley has announced an extension of the “Say Yes To Languages” module at primary school level, which will teach students a variety of foreign languages, including Ukrainian.
The module, which is aimed at 3rd to 6th class students in primary school, allows children to pick a language to study as a module, including French, Spanish, International Sign Language, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Arabic, Tamil and more.
However, this year, Ukrainian will be added as an option “to support the integration of newly arrived Ukrainian pupils to our schools.”
“Over 40,000 pupils have had the opportunity to learn and have fun through a range of languages, opening doors for them to the languages used by their classmates,” said Minister Foley.
Not only will the module be extended for another year into 2023, but it will be increased from 6 weeks long to 8 weeks.
“I have extended the programme to eight weeks and would like to see even more schools participating this year,” said Foley.
“…We want to equip our students with the skills that they will need to live in our globalised world, and foreign languages provide our students not only with a skill but with a broader access to and appreciation of a wide range of culture.”
Participating classes will be offered a grant of up to €400 each or €1600 per school.