Are you talkin' to me? 12th Oct 2007

Unionist Councillor Leslie Cubitt has said that plans for an Irish laguage school in Limavady is "a waste of good money". "I'm totally against this. I think it would be a waste of good money that would be better spent in the town and towards keeping rural schools open," he said.
A waste of good money? What price can you put on a child having the ability to speak more than one language? I don’t care if it’s Irish, Japanese, Hebrew, Spanish or Esperanto. The benefits to the child are plentiful and make it anything but a waste of money.Colr. Cubitt is quick to dismiss the notion that his objection has anything to do with a clash of ideologies.“I know people will say I don’t want it because it’s an Irish school, but it’s nothing to do with that, it’s because we need to bolster our rural schools and help address the issue of classroom overcrowding,” said Colr. Cubitt.Fair enough, maybe his objections have nothing to do with the language in question but to deny children the chance to develop their education in a new and exciting way seems crazy.Overcrowding is an issue in some primary schools but it’s up to the politicians to sort that out, and it can’t be at the expense of the education of the children. Youngsters with the chance of learning a second language shouldn’t have to pass on that opportunity because councillors are struggling to find answers to other education-related problems.A feasibility study is currently being carried out by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta - the Department of Education sponsored body responsible for the promotion of Irish-medium education in the North - but this has been dismissed by Colr Cubitt as a waste of time.Lazing aroundIn a society where kids are spending more and more time lazing around on Bebo, Facebook and MySpace and the English language has been butchered mercilessly by the introduction of “txt spk”, surely everyone should be fully supporting attempts to develop the vocabulary and language skills of the next generation.How long before Shakespeare texts in school contain the lines: “Romeo, Romeo, wer r u, Romeo?” or “2 b r not 2 b, thats the ?”?Learning anything new is a positive developme
nt and should be actively encouraged by all councillors, no matter what political persuasion. Whether it’s a new language, an instrument, a sport, or any type of new skill; all are beneficial to the development of the child. It stimulates activity in the brain and can help them further in later life..In addition to developing a lifelong ability to communicate with more people, children may derive other benefits from early language instruction, including improved overall school performance and superior problem-solving skills.Knowing a second language ultimately provides a competitive advantage in the workforce by opening up additional job opportunities - especially in the media here in Ireland. If you can read and write in Irish, and are interested in a career in the media - you’re laughing.Bilingual studentss develop a deeper understanding of their own and other cultures.
Some evidence also suggests that children who receive second language instruction are more creative and better at solving complex problems.Many schools couple language learning with trips educational visits. It would be great for kids from Limavady, or wherever, to get away to the Gaeltacht for a week and experience something completely different from the norm.Introducing primary school children to another language can be fun for the children involved. Some have argued that giving the pupils the experience of successful communication in early learning encourages a 'can do' attitude to foreign languages. This would suggest that pupils then approach secondary school modern language lessons with greater enthusiasm.On a purely social front, being bilingual is a big winner among members of the opposite sex.‘Score points’If, and when, the child reaches university-age and decides to go to uni then having a second (or third) language can score BIG points.I was walking and chatting with a friend of mine at university in York when her phone rang. She excused herse
lf and started speaking fluent Polish to her grandmother. I nearly fell over in awe - I had no idea she spoke anything but English with a Bolton-twang - and felt a little bit ashamed at my own lack of a second language. Another girl from my halls was born in Brazil and raised in Texas by a Greek mother and Spanish father. At 18 years of age she was fluent in English, Portugese, Spanish, Greek and French (which she had studied at school from the age of 5!). It really puts into perspective just how far behind we actually are.It’s super if young people learn to embrace a different language and culture.It would be a great for children in the North to learn a bit more about their neighbour’s culture - whether that be a greater understanding of the culture of Ulster-Scots or vice versa. It can’t do any harm and would, in all probability, do a hell of a lot of good.