Irish language, immersion, Irish-medium, attitudes, motivation, second language acquisition, grammatical accuracy, fluency.
This paper presents the results of a quantitative study that examined the attitudes and motivation of 172 Sixth Class Irish-medium students to Irish using a modified and adapted Attitude/Motivation Test Battery. The data show that students have very positive attitudes and motivation towards learning Irish. Such attitudes are important in maintaining the motivation required to master a second language over a long period. Items that require passive support for Irish received a more positive response from students while those requiring more active support receive a less positive response. The implications of the results for pedagogy will be discussed.