Over 80 fourth class pupils from Belgrove Senior Boys School are taking part in the new Primary Language Sampler starting this term. The sampler module is a means of raising awareness among pupils of the range of languages used by their peers, in their schools and community. Over 500 schools nationwide are taking part and offering modules in a range of modern foreign languages and Irish Sign Language.
The module will introduce our pupils to Japanese and be taught over a 6-week period during the normal school timetable.
Tutor Tamao Oka is delighted to be involved in sharing her language and experience with the pupils. A native of Japan, Tamao has been living in Dublin for a number of years and has children of her own who attend their local primary school. Already, the boys have taken part in origami art activities as well as learning about school life in Japan and practising greetings, colours, numbers, shapes and the months in Japanese. Each pupil has received a ‘Language Passport’ to document his progress and raise his awareness.
Being involved in this programme will help the pupils to appreciate the importance of languages as a life skill. It is an opportunity for the pupils to think in a different way and build opportunities for the future. With almost 20 languages spoken by the pupils and staff of our school, this module really helps to build awareness and celebrate the diversity within the school and community.
The module is being rolled out with the support of Languages Connect and PPLI (Post-Primary Languages Ireland), a unit of the Department of Education.