Primary Teacher Training in IE for foreign student?

clogsinthecity

Hi,

Could someone please point me in the right direction?
I would like to go get into Primary teaching, but I don't have a degree yet and would prefer to go to university in Ireland.

But after contacting Mary I, I have been informed that there is no way I can get into their B.Ed Programme without knowledge of the Irish language/ Irish leaving Cert.. And, that this is the case for all Universities, because Irish taught in all Primary schools in Ireland.

But, there must be foreign Primary teachers in Ireland?

Anyway, it would be great if someone would be able to give me some advise..

Thanks very much!!

killbillvol2

There are some foreign primary teachers here but they would have qualified first and then come to Ireland. (Most of those I've come across have been from the UK, Australia and New Zealand).

They are recognised provisionally to teach and must then reach the required standard of Irish. Here's a link with more info.

hot chick

wow. just checked out that link. Didn't realise they gave you 5 years to meet the requirment!

Unfortunately foreign students are in the same boat as irish students who didn't get their C Hons in Irish LC. Know plenty of Irish students who didn't get their irish LC grade and had to train abroad then come home and do the mini dip (think this is what they call the process of getting your irish recognised while you're teaching provisionally)

Think everyone should have the option of reaching the irish requirement during their teaching diploma. It's a bit ridiculous that it's forcing so many people to go abroad to qualify just to get around it, and they still end up as teachers so the dept of education aren't proving anything by refusing them in the first place

Trotter

hot chick wrote:

wow. just checked out that link. Didn't realise they gave you 5 years to meet the requirment!

Unfortunately foreign students are in the same boat as irish students who didn't get their C Hons in Irish LC. Know plenty of Irish students who didn't get their irish LC grade and had to train abroad then come home and do the mini dip (think this is what they call the process of getting your irish recognised while you're teaching provisionally)

Think everyone should have the option of reaching the irish requirement during their teaching diploma. It's a bit ridiculous that it's forcing so many people to go abroad to qualify just to get around it, and they still end up as teachers so the dept of education aren't proving anything by refusing them in the first place

I think you mean the SCG as opposed to the mini dip..
http://www.scgweb.ie/

hot chick

not sure of the right term as i'm not doing it myself.

Just keep hearing about the mini dip from teachers who've qualified abroad and are having their irish assessed.

ah... the site seems to be about a written exam. I don't know anything about that. I was taking about the part where the inspector comes around to assess you.

wingnut

hot chick wrote:

It's a bit ridiculous that it's forcing so many people to go abroad to qualify just to get around it, and they still end up as teachers so the dept of education aren't proving anything by refusing them in the first place

It is different if you come from abroad and don't have Irish because you haven't had the opportunity to study it. If you have studied Irish and couldn't even swing a C at LC hons level then IMO you shouldn't be teaching it.

Trotter

wingnut wrote:

If you have studied Irish and couldn't even swing a C at LC hons level then IMO you shouldn't be teaching it.

The primary Irish curriculum is so far removed from the outdated secondary curriculum that I dont think the above is true.

The aims and objectives of the primary curriculum focus on the ability to communicate, i.e. speaking and listening whereas as the Irish at secondary is very much a tedious, written exercise focussed programme that drives the joy from the learning of the language.

Someone with good conversational Gaeilge and the ability to teach it in an energetic and pleasurable way at primary level may not have been strong at complex Irish poetry and literature..

Because of this they may have studied ordinary level to prioritise other more difficult subjects in the points/rat race. Such is the nature of our leaving cert.

There is very little correlation between the abilities taught at leaving cert honours level and the responsibility to bring the language to life for junior infants. In my opinion these objectives are criminally far apart.

Until the leaving certificate reflects the objectives of the primary curriculum, I say give foreign teachers the opportunity to show they are gifted teachers, and get them into training colleges and then into the classroom quickly. We need them.

Imagine... a person who is a brilliant teacher in terms of explaining concepts and encouraging independent thought.. and who is fluent in Polish, English, and Portuguese... cant be appointed to a permanent primary teaching position. Given the needs of the modern, diverse Irish school.. this situation reeks of incompetence at government policy level.

Rant ends..

hot chick

here here trotter!

that's exactly what i did. when it came to the leaving cert i figured i may as well drop to pass irish. no point in slogging it out for 7 honours subjects when only 6 count for your CAO points. of course being a teacher was not part of the plan at this point :rolleyes:

and now that i'm older and (a little bit) wiser and i've done some work experience and realised it's the career for me.

I totally understand the point that if you can't get the LC grade then chances are you really aren't that bothered in teaching irish. that is if you know you're going to teach when you sit your leaving!
but there are a lot of teachers at the moment who are entering the profession in their late 20s/early 30s and i just feel that an exam you sat 10years previous when you were little more than a kid isn't terribly relevant.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be a level of irish you have to attain to get into a teaching course, but there should be other ways to achieve it other than going back and sitting your leaving again.

irelandjoe

Trotter wrote:

The primary Irish curriculum is so far removed from the outdated secondary curriculum that I dont think the above is true.

The aims and objectives of the primary curriculum focus on the ability to communicate, i.e. speaking and listening whereas as the Irish at secondary is very much a tedious, written exercise focussed programme that drives the joy from the learning of the language.

Someone with good conversational Gaeilge and the ability to teach it in an energetic and pleasurable way at primary level may not have been strong at complex Irish poetry and literature..

Because of this they may have studied ordinary level to prioritise other more difficult subjects in the points/rat race. Such is the nature of our leaving cert.

There is very little correlation between the abilities taught at leaving cert honours level and the responsibility to bring the language to life for junior infants. In my opinion these objectives are criminally far apart.

Until the leaving certificate reflects the objectives of the primary curriculum, I say give foreign teachers the opportunity to show they are gifted teachers, and get them into training colleges and then into the classroom quickly. We need them.

Imagine... a person who is a brilliant teacher in terms of explaining concepts and encouraging independent thought.. and who is fluent in Polish, English, and Portuguese... cant be appointed to a permanent primary teaching position. Given the needs of the modern, diverse Irish school.. this situation reeks of incompetence at government policy level.

Rant ends..

Exactly what I think. my wife is a qualified teacher in the UK she is Irish but left Ireland at the age of 12. So as a result doesn't have the Irish LC. She has been Teaching Special needs for the last 7 years and is anxious to get into a classroom again. The problem is that there is NO support from the Department in help teachers to get the required qualification. She has some irish but it's no way near the required level for the SCG. She is doing Grinds but the process is very slow and she feels that she will never get to SCG level. Also we are in Tipp and there are no SCG courses nearby. Any hope that the irish govenment will remove this requirement?