JC Orals in ASTI Schools French and Irish

mick kk

Whats is the current situation? No mention of this in the media at all. Heavily worded statement from ASTI earlier this year was very clear that there is to be no compliance with these. What is the reality on the ground for those of you in ASTI schools and is there any prospect this "ban" could be lifted?

dory

No movement in my school anyway. I've heard of one school going ahead with them. I'd love an oral but marking my own students would be terrible. I'm helping one student through a serious personal crisis at the moment. Would hard to be a supportive adult and then be the examiner as well.

RH149

We don't do them in my school but two other local schools do- they are both ASTI but pay outside examiners to come in and do them. My daughter was convinced she had failed the HL Irish exam in the JC but got a C.....puts it down to having done better in the Oral a few months earlier in school.

mick kk

we used to hire an outsider to come in and do it but the recent directive from ASTI said we weren't to "prepare" them for the oral....so at the moment they are not going ahead....am hoping there might be some change in the directive from the ASTI....although, a school can design its own marking scheme which could in theory be just the cómhrá without the sraith pic or rólghlacadh.....has anyone on here ever done this?

Terri26

That's the problem. There is no consistency between schools. There absolutely should be oral exams but they need to be externally assessed by the SEC . The newest ASTI directive means there is no ambiguity. The previous directive was a lot weaker and meant schools could do as they wished.

mick kk

Yes - you are right and the way it was worded meant you could get around the directive...but this time its very clear. So frustrating to be teaching a language and no assessment of the child's ability to speak that same language. But what to do?