Gaeilge, Gaeltacht, dátheangachas, tumoideachas, cainteoirí
dúchais, polasaí
Abstract in English below.
Bhí iliomad coiste, comhairle, agus coimisiúin a rinne iniúchadh ar an gcóras
oideachais Gaeltachta i gcaitheamh na mblianta ó 1926 i leith. Tugadh neamhaird
den chuid is mó ar mholtaí na dtuarascálacha éagsúla go dtí gur foilsíodh
Curaclam Teanga na Bunscoile (An Chomhairle Náisiúnta Curaclaim agus
Measúnachta 2015) agus an Polasaí don Oideachas Gaeltachta (An Roinn
Oideachais agus Scileanna 2016). Ceadaítear tréimhse tumadh iomlán sa Ghaeilge
den chéad uair de réir na moltaí sna cáipéisí sin. Ardaíonn sé seo ceisteanna do
scoileanna Gaeltachta maidir le riachtanais oideachais teanga cainteoirí óga
Gaeilge na Gaeltachta. Ar chóir múineadh an Bhéarla a thosú go luath do na
cainteoirí seo ag aithint go maireann siad i ndomhan ina bhfuil an Béarla
ceannasach? Déantar cur síos san alt seo ar an iniúchadh a rinneadh ar na moltaí
éagsúla a rinneadh maidir leis an oideachas Gaeltachta agus ar an litríocht
ábhartha le fáil amach an bhfuil bonn láidir oideachasúil faoin bpolasaí seo.
Mhaígh Ó Duibhir agus Cummins (2012) go n-aistríonn scileanna áirithe teanga,
ar nós scileanna litearthachta, ó theanga amháin go teanga eile. Más fíor sin,d’fhéadfaí a mhaíomh gur cuma cé acu teanga go dtéitear i ngleic léi ar dtús mar
go n-aistreofar na scileanna ó theanga amháin go dtí an ceann eile. Léiríonn
taighde eile le páistí Gaeltachta (7–12 bliain d’aois) ar chainteoirí dúchais iad, go
bhfuil stór focal níos fairsinge acu sa Bhéarla ná mar atá sa Ghaeilge (Péterváry,
Ó Curnáin, Ó Giollagáin, & Sheahan 2014). B’fhéidir gur fianaise í seo go bhfuil
sealbhú neamhiomlán i gceist do na páistí seo agus go rachadh sé chun sochair dóibh múineadh an Bhéarla a chur siar chun breis ama a thabhairt dóibh bonn níos
seasmhaí a chur faoina gcumas Gaeilge.
Numerous committees, advisory bodies and commissions have investigated the
Gaeltacht education system over the years since 1926. The recommendations of
the resulting reports were on the whole ignored until the publication of the
Primary Language Curriculum (National Council for Curriculum and Assessment
2015) and the Policy for Gaeltacht Education (Department of Education and Skills
2016). According to the recommendations in these documents, a total immersion
period in Irish is permitted for the first time. This raises questions for Gaeltacht
schools about the language education needs of young Irish speakers in their
schools. Should the teaching of English commence early for these speakers
recognising that they live in an English dominated world? In this paper, we
describe an investigation of the various recommendations that were made about
Gaeltacht education and the relevant literature to examine whether there is a
strong educational rationale underlying this policy. Ó Duibhir and Cummins
(2012) claimed that some linguistic skills, such as literacy skills, transferred from
one language to another. If this is the case, it could be claimed that it does not
matter which language is encountered first as the skills will transfer from one
language to the other. Research by Péterváry, Ó Curnáin, Ó Giollagáin, & Sheahan (2014) involving native Irish-speaking Gaeltacht children (7–12 years)
found that the children had a larger vocabulary in English than in Irish. This may
be evidence that those children are experiencing incomplete acquisition and that they might benefit from a delay in the introduction of English in order to give
them extra time to lay a firmer foundation for their ability in Irish.