Gaeilge in your life and your child/children's life/lives?

caseyann

Do you like your child learning Irish?Would you if it was made not compulsory in Secondary,encourage your child to stay with it?

Personally i do and always will,and feel great respect love and loyalty to our native language.
I find myself lucky i had the chance to learn Irish, as our kids are.

Also even if not spoken in the place you have moved to abroad on a cv it is highly respected.

Nevyn

I was at a irish class this morning put on by the primary school for parents to brush up on thier gaeilge for helping the kids with home work and to encourage the use of it at home.
We do use it here on occassion and I find that switching to irish will often get thier notice quicker.

Squiggler

Irish wasn't compulsory for my Dad when he was in school, although he did learn a bit, and my Mum is from the North so she has no Irish. In spite of that Dad made sure that he taught us what little bit of Irish he does know - "dún an doras", "sui sios" and so on.

I think it is important that we don't let our heritage die, and our native language is a big part of that.

My Husband is from USA but he's been slowly trying to learn a bit of Irish, conversational stuff, and thinks we should by one of these for our offspring (due in March). I feel very lucky that he feels that it is worth the effort, for himself, let alone for our child.

littlebug

Irish is an important part of our lives mainly due to my husbands family background. My own Irish is ok-ish but it's very much a second language, therefore not used as much as I should on a daily basis which means the children aren't as fluent as they could/ should be. Hopefully they'll embrace it over time as part of their personal rather than (or as well as) national heritage.
Gaelscoil would have been our first choice but wasn't possible geographically without a 30 mile round trip.

caseyann

Give it ago around the house even if ok-ish its a base
I do it around the house and out

Its really good the school does that Thaedydal.:) Are you good at your Irish?


Squiggler,my grandad spoke it religiously at us all the time was a lovely feeling always had special place in heart for Irish

I find it can be taught in schools but really must be continued on at home.Schools are the ground work the leg work must be done at home.
My friends kids are been schooled through English and take Irish although not Irish.
Their kids go to school and learn their own home language also,
So when in their house they speak all three languages in intervals

Moonbeam

Our little girl is spoken to in irish a lot at home , some of her books are as gaeilge some are in english,she doesn't seem to mind.
We record Dora and wonderpets as gaeilge from TG4.She doesn't watch much tv but it is in both languages and she doesn't notice as it has been that way from day 1.`
Her name is down for naíonra and the local gaelscoil.
In the creche they speak english so in many cases she knows 2 words for the same thing like éan was a bird on the ground and bird was a bird in the sky.
"Thirsty Bainne fridge mammy"

unreggd

The bollix syllabus is the blame

It needs to be taught as a foreign, spoken language.

Do this, starting with the next group of 1st years, then make it optional after that

Some people do have language difficulties, but I bet fluency in general would greatly improve that way

Just another part of the fzcked up education system we have

byhookorbycrook

unreggd wrote: »

The bollix syllabus is the blame

It needs to be taught as a foreign, spoken language.

Do this, starting with the next group of 1st years, then make it optional after that

Some people do have language difficulties, but I bet fluency in general would greatly improve that way

Just another part of the fzcked up education system we have

The DES tried their best to prevent Gaelscoileanna use total immersion for junior infants, despite all the reseach to show that it is the best way to become fluent at an early age.

Kimono-Girl

Moonbeam wrote: »

Our little girl is spoken to in irish a lot at home , some of her books are as gaeilge some are in english,she doesn't seem to mind.
We record Dora and wonderpets as gaeilge from TG4.She doesn't watch much tv but it is in both languages and she doesn't notice as it has been that way from day 1.`
Her name is down for naíonra and the local gaelscoil.
"

we have the exact same scenario, i speak irish to my daughter when its just me and her, she has loads of Irish language books, her name is down in the
naíonra and she's guaranteed her place in the local gaelscoil....

i hope she will be dual languaged like i am,

my sister and my cousin are fluent and my OH has a good grasp of the language, so they speak to her in Irish occasionally too!

planetX

well anytime I hear it, I'm transported back to school.... baaad memories. But you know what, it seems to be taught exactly the same crappy way now as it was then. My son hates it, and it's no wonder. They have to learn to read and spell words before they can speak them. He spent this evening doing really hard spellings without a clue what they meant. It's not the right way to learn a language.

caseyann

planetX wrote: »

well anytime I hear it, I'm transported back to school.... baaad memories. But you know what, it seems to be taught exactly the same crappy way now as it was then. My son hates it, and it's no wonder. They have to learn to read and spell words before they can speak them. He spent this evening doing really hard spellings without a clue what they meant. It's not the right way to learn a language.

You should make it fun for him then.
Get pieces of paper stick them on items around the house.
It is although for teachers to bring the child's interest to Irish,some teachers just stick to the boring way.
But it is up to you to make it feel less hard for them and to tell them its ok and feel no pressure if they dont get them right all time.
I dont know how you are with your child,but remember your energy about Irish tells them millions.
Our school taught through singing and rhymes etc.. we were forced to speak it all day in the play yard and all.
You should introduce the fun side of Irish to him

caseyann

unreggd wrote: »

The bollix syllabus is the blame

It needs to be taught as a foreign, spoken language.

Do this, starting with the next group of 1st years, then make it optional after that

Some people do have language difficulties, but I bet fluency in general would greatly improve that way

Just another part of the fzcked up education system we have

Time to grasp love and understanding of Irish is younger years.

deisemum

I don't like the Irish language and would love to see it changed to an optional choice instead of the current compulsory system. It doesn't even sound nice to the ear, more like a phlegm problem.

I left school in 1982 and haven't used Irish since I left apart from a few words when my children were in the lower years of primary school. It's just one of those subjects that I had to do in school but have had no reason to use it.

Gaelgoirs or more correctly gaelbores are the ones who are ruining the irish language. They're generally so bloody snobby and smug about the irish language and generally do nothing to encourage those with irish not at their level.

My children don't mind it too much, my older fella liked it at the gaeltacht but it's the way it's taught in school that's off putting.

SineadMaria

very true, how gaeilge is taught in school is very bad, i would like to see more primary gaeilge shcools as children do learn languages better.

littlebug

deisemum wrote: »

It doesn't even sound nice to the ear, more like a phlegm problem.

.

I ticked option one in the poll but I don't really think it's a beautiful language... it's too gutteral to e beautiful but I still like it.

I also think you're right in what you say about schools. Unless a child is exposed to Irish in everyday life they are not going to become fluent or enjoy the language. I only really took to it at age 12 having gone to the gaeltacht for 3 weeks. School irish became much easier after that. It became the language of my memories of my first time away from home, my first crush . Breakfast, dinner and tea were as gaeilge. You can't replicate that kind of stuff with Peig or Réchursa Gramadaí. Living in Galway in my 20s I was surrounded by drunken debauchery as gaeilge so again I was hearing it all in a more natural and enjoyable way.
I don't know the answer though... you can't send 5 year olds to a gaeltacht...

The personal connection has been lost for the most part in Ireland. In most cases our parents or grandparents didn't speak Irish so we don't feel a bond with it. I'm very glad that my children do have a personal connection through people and place with the language so will try to foster that as much as I can.

pickarooney

My kids will never have a chance/be forced to learn it but I have to admit a part of me is sad about that.

Nevyn

planetX wrote: »

well anytime I hear it, I'm transported back to school.... baaad memories. But you know what, it seems to be taught exactly the same crappy way now as it was then. My son hates it, and it's no wonder. They have to learn to read and spell words before they can speak them. He spent this evening doing really hard spellings without a clue what they meant. It's not the right way to learn a language.

Would you not google the words for him so he knows what they mean?
Chances are he was told in school and forgot, we have that happen and sometimes I will know the word or we can figure it out due to it's context
but we will look up the works.

I don't have a lot of irish, but I do have everyday, how are you, hows the weather, eat your dinner, shut the door, go to bed and I do use it.
I find it's a case of use it or loose it but the more I do, more of it comes back.

metrovelvet

I have no Irish whatsoever. I don't care two cents about the language. I think its a waste of time and I'd rather my son speak and write English very well, than speak two languages half badly.

Nevyn

Given the developmental advantages neurlogcally to learning a second language or more as the child's brain developes I think it's something most parent's don't mind at all, but I do think that parents have to let go of thier personal dislike due to how it was taught to them.

planetX

caseyann wrote: »

You should make it fun for him then.
Get pieces of paper stick them on items around the house.
It is although for teachers to bring the child's interest to Irish,some teachers just stick to the boring way.
But it is up to you to make it feel less hard for them and to tell them its ok and feel no pressure if they dont get them right all time.
I dont know how you are with your child,but remember your energy about Irish tells them millions.
Our school taught through singing and rhymes etc.. we were forced to speak it all day in the play yard and all.
You should introduce the fun side of Irish to him

I can't introduce the fun side of Irish, as it's something I've never experienced. I scraped through pass leaving cert, and have never spoken a word since (family isn't Irish, so it's not my heritage). I've never discouraged my son, but I see the subject being taught exactly the same way I remember, and it's so depressing. Children should learn to speak a language before they start the drudgery of grammer, spellings and comprehension exercises. Last night my sons English spellings were words like 'busy', 'angry', 'lift'. His Irish spellings included 'ag caoineadh', 'feachaint' and a few words I didn't even recognise. He is fluent in English, can't actually make a sentence yet in Irish. How do the people making the syllabus not see a problem with this???

silverharp

Culture and education should be child and parent centered, not top down by whatever numpties happen to be manning the civil service or government. My eldest is 6 and is able to read in English and German. Culture is valuable if its actively embraced so I applaud Gael schools but their must be choice, anything else is petty nationalism. Thankfully the school he goes to doesnt start Irish til aged 10 (I think) so not an issue here for a while. To be honest I wont be able to "fake" that he should love it, if he likes it fine, if he thinks its a load of ..... I'll have to agree with him.

If the whole learning a second lauguage early is valid (and I think it is) people should be able to choose what the second language is. They might be able to design their holidays around it etc and might even encourage the parents to take adult classes etc. It will always come back to if you want to do something you'll be the richer for it.

astra2000

Having irish forced on all children does not make sense at all. I know in our school it is really only learned orally until first class then written work and spellings are introduced. This is grand for children who dont struggle with learning to read and write their first language, but for those who do it is added stress. Now I do know that should a learning difficulty be diagnoised irish can be dropped but as assesments for dyslexia ect are not carried out until second class or maybe later the child has to struggle on in two languages.
I think it is shocking that so much time is spent learning irish and so many kids still leave school struggling to read and write.
I think it would be better if our children learned it in a more conversational way in national schools and when children start secondary school they have a choice on wheather or not to take irish. It would be great if the gaelteach was made a more affordable option for all kids who have a love of the language.
I do value the irish language and hope it is never allowed to die out.

ellee

Omg I absolutely hated the subject and bitterly resented being forced to learn it. I'm afraid the grudge lingers and I couldn't care less if I never heard another word of it or if my children never spoke it.

kelle

I love the Irish language, my beloved mother (now RIP) and her family are fluent at it. I love speaking it, though I'm not as knowlegable as I should be and keep substituting English words. My children go to a Gaelscoil, and they picked it up no problem. Unfortunately i don't speak it at home as much as I should,but I live in the Gaeltacht and converse with most of the nighbours in Irish.

Kimono-Girl

metrovelvet wrote: »

I'd rather my son speak and write English very well, than speak two languages half badly.

Many studies have been done in this area and it's been proven that those who attend Irish Speaking schools do better,not only in English, but in French, German and other languages too, than those who attend an English speaking school!

caseyann

planetX wrote: »

I can't introduce the fun side of Irish, as it's something I've never experienced. I scraped through pass leaving cert, and have never spoken a word since (family isn't Irish, so it's not my heritage). I've never discouraged my son, but I see the subject being taught exactly the same way I remember, and it's so depressing. Children should learn to speak a language before they start the drudgery of grammer, spellings and comprehension exercises. Last night my sons English spellings were words like 'busy', 'angry', 'lift'. His Irish spellings included 'ag caoineadh', 'feachaint' and a few words I didn't even recognise. He is fluent in English, can't actually make a sentence yet in Irish. How do the people making the syllabus not see a problem with this???

But you did it and is something you should be very proud of that you accomplished and not even been Irish .;):)

I see what you mean about them been hard ones.How old is he do you mind me asking?
You can get books with rhymes and songs in Irish to bring out the more fun side of it for kids.
There is also scrabble and use English,Irish, dictionary for kids to help play.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0301/1224265370617.html
Go into any store you can get books in Irish for younger years and cds also.

thesimpsons

I'm really surprised at the people whose kids are in schools where their kids seem to have to learn spellings not connected with anything in particular & who can't put sentances together in irish. Mine have used variety of school text books in irish over the years and they have always learned the vocab first, speaking it in class, words into sentances for homework and then had the grammar fine tuned at later age. By 4/5th class they had a fair grasp of how to put sentances & paragraphs together. They aren't in gaelscoils so it must be down to the school ethos. I do think though that alot of parents need to let go of their hang ups about the language as it is only being passed on to children. I took up Irish classes when mine were in primary school so I could help them with their homework/grammar and now we'd have the odd conversation in Irish - throwing in english words when we didn't know the irish for them. Some of the programmes on TG4 are really good too and they usually have sub-titles so you can follow along.

r3nu4l

Hated it in school, absolutely despised it, right up until I finished and left.

Now, while I'm not fluent, I love the language and take every opportunity to speak in Irish to my daughter. I guess that living in England has made me realise how important the language is! Most of my friends in England are actually from France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Greece and many didn't realise that we had our own language. When they have heard it they've enthused over it and how different, unique and cultural it sounds. It's opened my eyes to the language and made me think about it differently. So, yes, Id' encourage its use but also desperately hope that someone in the Dept of Education will eventually change the syllabus to encourage it as a spoken language first and written second.

Interestingly a friend of mine has always spoken exclusively Spanish to his daughter from the day she was born while his wife spoke exclusively German. She picked up English in nursery. At four years of age she is fluent in all three languages and speaks Spanish with a Spanish accent, German with a German accent and English with a very local Cambridge accent. Amazing to hear and see it.

tl;dr?

Irish? +1

silverharp

candlelover wrote: »

Many studies have been done in this area and it's been proven that those who attend Irish Speaking schools do better,not only in English, but in French, German and other languages too, than those who attend an English speaking school!

and that has nothing to do with the fact that are "probably" mainly middle class and or motivated parents?

wolfpawnat

I have put my sons name to ONLY Gaelscoils! I was in Tesco a minute ago and I was talking to him as Gaeilge and he was just listening away (he is 20 months) a child about 7 turned around to its mother and said "why do people speak Polish in Ireland?":eek: I spun around and said "It's Irish, your national language!" The mother was embarassed. She asked her child did he not study Irish in school, he said ya, but not like that.

I was brought up in Cork city, I spent 17 years there and I moved to Dingle in 6th year. I was put back to 5th and spoken to all day everyday in Irish, it took 2 weeks to actually sort myself out! But total submergence actually made it easy. When I do maths today I still mutter it in Irish!

I am getting the Gaeilge bear for my son for xmas. I think it is important to have cultural identity!

But the way it is taught children don't want to learn it! It has to be made a bigger part of their lives overall!

Cat Melodeon

I don't really know which option to pick in the poll. I think Irish is an important part of our heritage, but I'm not fluent myself and won't be teaching it to my child. I'm much better at German than Irish and have been reading stories and speaking to my 14 month old auf Deutsch as there is a chance we might be moving back to Germany in the near future. I wasn't good at either language in school and picked up most of my German knowledge by living there for a few years. It's pretty atrocious that nearly three decades of living in Ireland hasn't afforded the same opportunities for speaking Irish.

If Irish is to have a chance of ever becoming as important as English to Irish people, all primary schooling would need to be done through Irish. There would be a generation of problems as many parents would be unable to help their kids out with homework etc, but within 20 years every child leaving an Irish primary school would be bilingual. Whether they chose to attend a Gaelscoil secondary or continue studying Irish for the Leaving Cert should then be left up to them. The country could probably never afford to undertake such a project so I doubt we'll ever be a truly bilingual country.

Nevyn

The secret to understanding any language is to speak it, even a few words a day and to build on that. Which is why I am doing the classes to brush up as there are many words I have forgotten so that speaking to my kids as gaelgie becomes a daily thing even if it's only a few phrases.

I had been planning on doing the same with german but alas my son is doing french which I haven't got a clue of but I am willing to learn a little so that we can have some conversations in french for his sake.

rccaulfield

Dead language, serious waste of a childs time and effort. Why not learn a norse language or an ancient african tongue-thats our heritage aswell if you go back far enough!

Nevyn

I have had that arguement with my son who says that more people speak Klingon then Irish so it would benefit him more to learn that.

So many of the place names in this country are irish or come from the irish and those places are named after people and events of our histroy so it's part of our heritage and culture and a way into that.

LordSutch

Sharon Ní Bheoláin (of all people) wrote an interesting piece is this weeks Sunday Times with reference to the fact that "The teaching of Irish has been a spectacular failure" since the foundation of the State, she then goes on to say that although she herself is well known for being an Irish speaker, she does not agree that 'Irish' can continue to be a mandatory subject in our schools when the vast majority of pupils come out the other end still not able to speak the language after 14 years of compulsion!

I agree with Sharon 100%, and I also think that the mandatory forcing of Irish is/and always has done more harm than good to its image/status.

Sadly I will be powerless to stop it being forced into my kids at school, and 'yes' I expect them to come out the far end in 14 years time (along with most of their peers) not being able to speak the langauge fluently :cool:

byhookorbycrook

silverharp wrote: »

and that has nothing to do with the fact that are "probably" mainly middle class and or motivated parents?

Oh, please, listening to too much David McWilliam. I work in a Gaelscoil, our intake is broad and we certainly don't take middle class children only!Some Dublin schools might have a "D4" type intake but that would be the exception rather than the rule.

metrovelvet

Thaedydal wrote: »

The secret to understanding any language is to speak it, even a few words a day and to build on that. Which is why I am doing the classes to brush up as there are many words I have forgotten so that speaking to my kids as gaelgie becomes a daily thing even if it's only a few phrases.

I had been planning on doing the same with german but alas my son is doing french which I haven't got a clue of but I am willing to learn a little so that we can have some conversations in french for his sake.

The sad thing is I was bi lingual before I started school. I also knew how to read before I started school. But because I was bi lingual they though I was one of those english as as second language kids and put me in classes with kids of Cuban immigrants.

So I lost one language and nearly lost another.

Nevyn

Then your parents should have sorted that out.

metrovelvet

Thaedydal wrote: »

Then your parents should have sorted that out.

There was nothing they could do about it except homeschool which I don't think they even knew existed as a choice.

silverharp

byhookorbycrook wrote: »

Oh, please, listening to too much David McWilliam. I work in a Gaelscoil, our intake is broad and we certainly don't take middle class children only!Some Dublin schools might have a "D4" type intake but that would be the exception rather than the rule.

I did say motivated as well.

astra2000

Thaedydal wrote: »

Then your parents should have sorted that out.

I know from what you have said metrovelvet this doesnt apply to you but
Unfortunatly Thaedydal a lot of kids dont have parents who will sort out things for them. Forcing a language that is difficult to learn and badly taught is putting these and children with learning difficulties at risk. I agree Irish is part of our heritage and I would hate to see it lost but at the moment the way it is been implemented is not working.

metrovelvet

astra2000 wrote: »

I know from what you have said metrovelvet this doesnt apply to you but
Unfortunatly Thaedydal a lot of kids dont have parents who will sort out things for them. Forcing a language that is difficult to learn and badly taught is putting these and children with learning difficulties at risk. I agree Irish is part of our heritage and I would hate to see it lost but at the moment the way it is been implemented is not working.

There is a limit too to the amount of control a parent has. As much as I'd like to pull my son out of IRish so he can learn French, German or Italian, school policy wont let me do that. I'd have to home school. And dont know if I can do that.

caseyann

metrovelvet wrote: »

There is a limit too to the amount of control a parent has. As much as I'd like to pull my son out of IRish so he can learn French, German or Italian, school policy wont let me do that. I'd have to home school. And dont know if I can do that.

You can get letters of recommendation to have your child removed from Irish learning,Tell them reasons in a letter to education department and away you go.Yes it will.I know loads of kids who cant manage Irish and are made exempt from it.





I just found this aswell for any parent who have not seen it for their younger kids
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/digital-life/item/17906-worlds-first-irish-speakin
The world’s first Irish-speaking teddy bear has won a Galway electronic toy firm top award in the Practical Pre-School Awards in the UK.

Galway-based company Bábógbaby took the gold medal in the category for its creation ‘BB’ – the world’s first Irish-speaking teddy bear. The company announced its triumph on Twitter this afternoon.

Moonbeam

it is brilliant:)
My little girl loves the website -
http://www.babogbaby.com/

We ordered one for her birthday.

caseyann

Moonbeam wrote: »

it is brilliant:)
My little girl loves the website -
http://www.babogbaby.com/

We ordered one for her birthday.

Never mind kids playing with i will aswell :o

tscul32

>>Sharon Ní Bheoláin (of all people) wrote an interesting piece is this weeks Sunday Times with reference to the fact that "The teaching of Irish has been a spectacular failure" since the foundation of the State, she then goes on to say that although she herself is well known for being an Irish speaker, she does not agree that 'Irish' can continue to be a mandatory subject in our schools when the vast majority of pupils come out the other end still not able to speak the language after 14 years of compulsion!<<

Ironically before she became 'famous' Sharon Ní Bheoláin was an Irish teacher in my secondary school. The only years that boys liked Irish!

I've always loved Irish, spent a bit of time in the Gaeltacht, and was determined from a young age that any children I had would attend a Gaelscoil if at all possible. My oldest just started junior infants at a Gaelscoil 5 mins from our house, unfortunately he didn't get into the naíonra last year. I've always used the few phrases - 'suí síos', 'lámha suas', 'dún an doras', etc. but I can't believe how much he has learnt in the past 5 weeks. He's coming out with phrases that my sis (teaches 3rd class in a non gaelscoil) says she's be lucky if one or two in her class could use. On the way to a family reunion today my husband said 'oh no I forgot my camera' when a voice popped up with 'ah well, no griangraf's so'. I had to explain to my husband who had no idea what he said. He even has his 2yo brother saying 'gabh mo leithscéal' when he farts!! And my husband has started Irish lessons so that he can't talk about him behind his back. But I definitely think that total immersion is the way to go.

psycho-hope

my oh is fluent in irish he went to gaelscoil for primary school and can still speak a fair bit now. I some how got a C3 in honours irish but can speak sod all now tbh, would love to brush up on it, and would definatly encourage any children I have to learn and enjoy the language

caseyann

tscul32 wrote: »

>>Sharon Ní Bheoláin (of all people) wrote an interesting piece is this weeks Sunday Times with reference to the fact that "The teaching of Irish has been a spectacular failure" since the foundation of the State, she then goes on to say that although she herself is well known for being an Irish speaker, she does not agree that 'Irish' can continue to be a mandatory subject in our schools when the vast majority of pupils come out the other end still not able to speak the language after 14 years of compulsion!<<

Ironically before she became 'famous' Sharon Ní Bheoláin was an Irish teacher in my secondary school. The only years that boys liked Irish!

I've always loved Irish, spent a bit of time in the Gaeltacht, and was determined from a young age that any children I had would attend a Gaelscoil if at all possible. My oldest just started junior infants at a Gaelscoil 5 mins from our house, unfortunately he didn't get into the naíonra last year. I've always used the few phrases - 'suí síos', 'lámha suas', 'dún an doras', etc. but I can't believe how much he has learnt in the past 5 weeks. He's coming out with phrases that my sis (teaches 3rd class in a non gaelscoil) says she's be lucky if one or two in her class could use. On the way to a family reunion today my husband said 'oh no I forgot my camera' when a voice popped up with 'ah well, no griangraf's so'. I had to explain to my husband who had no idea what he said. He even has his 2yo brother saying 'gabh mo leithscéal' when he farts!! And my husband has started Irish lessons so that he can't talk about him behind his back. But I definitely think that total immersion is the way to go.

It is a big possibility it is certain Teachers who have the ability to bring the enthusiasm into the Irish learning for kids also.
The teachers i had in school were brilliant and partly down to them i am as good as i am at it.
There in could be one of the factors.Teachers teaching Irish but have no real interest in it at all.
Our teachers spoke it at home to their kids and to us on street when we met them or in shops.

B00MSTICK

Hi all,

I'm not a parent but I went to an all-Irish primary school and like psycho-hope's OH I can still speak a fair bit.

I do wish I could speak a fair bit of a different language instead though.

I have great English, pretty decent Irish and terrible French.

Sure its part of our heritage etc. but tbh I'd rather it was a 3rd language for me.

Most people I know are useless at it and never use it.
And why would they? Does it benefit you in any way beyond this "heritageness"?

OK, I won't be working for TG4/writing for Foinse/doing any of that EU or government translations etc. but is that all I'm missing out on?

I'm looking to go on placement for college now and I'm telling you being able to speak 2 languages is a major advantage for most companies.

The OP mentioned it being respected on your CV when abroad...wouldn't it be better if you actually knew the language of whatever country you're moving to?

So, going somewhat on-topic, if I was parent I'd rather my kids go to an all french/german/whatever primary school and pick Irish up in secondary school (like we do with foreign languages now)

They'll still come out with cúpla focail (should that "i" be there?) and lets be honest, thats all the majority of the adults of Ireland have anyway.

I know the idea is ludicrous but that's how I feel, heck maybe by the time the kids get to second level they'll be dying to learn it.