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Irish - The Language of the Elite?

  • 09-01-2010 07:08PM
    #1
    Closed Accounts Posts: 108 ✭✭


    From The Irish Times:
    IRISH IS the language of the elite in Ireland with speakers of the language enjoying higher incomes than the rest of the population, according to a controversial new report.

    The report, compiled by researchers at the University of Ulster and the University of Limerick (UL), concludes Irish speakers are educated to a higher level and are less likely to be unemployed than people who have no Irish.

    You reckon there's any truth to this? Is it an advantage in this recession to be an Irish speaker? Apparently non-speakers of Irish are twice as likely to be unemployed as their Irish-speaking counterparts. There could actually be some truth to this!

    It also says that Gaelscoileanna send 22% of their Leaving Certs to third level education compared to the national average of 7%.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0109/1224261977461.html


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭conchubhar1


    Yes and no.

    yes - it is true but no it is not special to irish.

    Bi lingual speakers would generally be better off.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 50 ✭✭trench foot


    it doesnt surprise me. it just goes to show the extent of which money is wasted on the preservation of the irish language. now we've got gaelic elites walking around the place lol


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭conchubhar1


    trench brain too by the sounds of it.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 5,082 ✭✭✭Pygmalion


    People who learnt Irish are the people who actually put effort into their education in Primary/Secondary school and had a better chance of getting to a good college/university (Well, this excludes those with Irish as a first language).


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,759 ✭✭✭✭dlofnep


    Gaelscoilenna are better educational institutions. It makes sense that pupils who attend them fair better.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 8,452 ✭✭✭Time Magazine


    I haven't seen the report, but I suspect that it's suffering from omitted variable bias. If you're the sort of person who wants to do well, you'll work hard at Irish for the LC points. This will open doors for you that will make you more likely to be "elite".

    I doubt the results are causal.
    dlofnep wrote: »
    Gaelscoilenna are better educational institutions.
    Anything to back that up?


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 4,668 Mod ✭✭✭✭dory


    GLUEY wrote: »

    It also says that Gaelscoileanna send 22% of their Leaving Certs to third level education compared to the national average of 7%.
    [/url]

    Well think about it, if you're a messer who hates school - you're not going to agree to going to a educational institution in which you will have to battle in out in your second language.

    The same report could be written about Irish people who speak English and French, or English and Spanish. If you go out of your way to learn another language then you obviously have some drive and intellect in you.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,057 ✭✭✭Krusader


    Anything to back that up?

    Im not sure about this but havn't Gaeilscoil classrooms less pupils than your average school.My primary school had 30-35 kids per class usually giving virtually no 1 on 1 teacher pupil learning


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 20,759 ✭✭✭✭dlofnep


    Anything to back that up?

    Personal observation. The class numbers are smaller, so students get more one-to-one focus than other schools. I find that teachers in na gaelscoilenna tend to be more enthusiastic about teaching - but once again, that's personal observation.

    Also, studies have shown that pupils brought up in a bilingual environment tend to fair better than monolingual students. I read a study on it a year or two back - can't find the link at the moment, if I do - I'll post it.


  • Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 2,139 ✭✭✭Jo King


    The parents are also more likely to be interested in education than average. There are studies showing that there is a strong link between a child's educational attainments and the number of books the parents have at home. Ireland had a primary school system before the rest of the kingdom in the 19th century because there was more demand for it in Ireland than in Britain. Interest in education leads to greater achievement. There are numerous studies showing that the longer people remain in education the higher their income and occupational status.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 110 ✭✭Ceilteach


    dlofnep wrote: »
    Personal observation. The class numbers are smaller, so students get more one-to-one focus than other schools. I find that teachers in na gaelscoilenna tend to be more enthusiastic about teaching - but once again, that's personal observation.

    Also, studies have shown that pupils brought up in a bilingual environment tend to fair better than monolingual students. I read a study on it a year or two back - can't find the link at the moment, if I do - I'll post it.

    Not sure about that to be honest with you. maybe 10 or 15 years ago it would have been true but i think you'll find that nearly all gaelscoil classes are over subscribed now with at least 30 kids in all classes.
    there's also extensive research from israel and canada showing the achievement of bilingual pupils


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,594 ✭✭✭Grudaire


    Aontaím: Not surprising, lots of stuff missing in the report, although I do think people who choose to use irish are smarter and generally better people ;) :P


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 2,653 ✭✭✭conchubhar1


    exactly - its just all bilingual people.

    plus i have seen that most people who speak irish tend to be more open to other languages and other things. they wont be close minded like most other people. generalisation i know but thats what we are discussing.


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