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> all EU countries except Ireland mandate second language teaching in schools Ireland does mandate second language teaching in schools, it's just not a foreign

> all EU countries except Ireland mandate second language teaching in schools Ireland does mandate second language teaching in schools, it's just not a foreign language, it's Irish (separate language, not a dialect of English). And it's taught atrociously badly. The vast majority of graduates, after about 13 years of mandatory Irish classes, cannot functionally speak it.

amiga386 1y ago
> separate language, not a dialect of English Of all the languages spoken in the UK and Ireland that argument attracts, I've never heard anyone claim that about Irish - an actual Gaelic language. > The vast majority of graduates, after about 13 years of mandatory Irish classes, cannot functionally speak it. They just need to get out their word book - that's right, their focal leabhair ♫ oh get out your focal leabhair, get out your focal leabhair and we'll have you speaking Irish in a half-an-hour Sea means yes and Níl means no get out your focal leabhair and we'll all have a go ♫ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYNZbmrMg7M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYNZbmrMg7M
- wheybags 1y ago
  > I've never heard anyone claim that about Irish - an actual Gaelic language. Many people from other parts of the world don't know it exists, so when you say "Irish language", they just think you mean hiberno-english. I've never heard anyone claim it either, just assume, then get confused in conversation until I clarify.
michaelt 1y ago
> And it's taught atrociously badly. The vast majority of graduates, after about 13 years of mandatory Irish classes, cannot functionally speak it. I grew up in a country where we had mandatory lessons in a little-used local language imposed on us by politicians. That I learned nothing isn’t the teachers’ fault - they were simply set an impossible task.
david-gpu 1y ago
Monolinguals consistently underestimate how hard it is to reach proficiency in another language. The exception to this being being raised in a multilingual home. I don't know what their reasoning is. They can plainly see around them foreigners struggling to speak, but they somehow think that it won't happen to them?

amiga386 1y ago

> separate language, not a dialect of English Of all the languages spoken in the UK and Ireland that argument attracts, I've never heard anyone claim that about Irish - an actual Gaelic language. > The vast majority of graduates, after about 13 years of mandatory Irish classes, cannot functionally speak it. They just need to get out their word book - that's right, their focal leabhair ♫ oh get out your focal leabhair, get out your focal leabhair and we'll have you speaking Irish in a half-an-hour Sea means yes and Níl means no get out your focal leabhair and we'll all have a go ♫ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYNZbmrMg7M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYNZbmrMg7M

wheybags 1y ago
> I've never heard anyone claim that about Irish - an actual Gaelic language. Many people from other parts of the world don't know it exists, so when you say "Irish language", they just think you mean hiberno-english. I've never heard anyone claim it either, just assume, then get confused in conversation until I clarify.

michaelt 1y ago

> And it's taught atrociously badly. The vast majority of graduates, after about 13 years of mandatory Irish classes, cannot functionally speak it. I grew up in a country where we had mandatory lessons in a little-used local language imposed on us by politicians. That I learned nothing isn’t the teachers’ fault - they were simply set an impossible task.

david-gpu 1y ago

Monolinguals consistently underestimate how hard it is to reach proficiency in another language. The exception to this being being raised in a multilingual home. I don't know what their reasoning is. They can plainly see around them foreigners struggling to speak, but they somehow think that it won't happen to them?