There are plans being considered to teach more foreign languages in our secondary schools. Is this a good idea?
Dr. Kevin Williams of the School of Education at DCU believes that we are overstretched, as most students are already studying at least two languages at secondary school.
"Where are people going to fit all this in? There's no space."
Kevin also feels that Irish students have a "reasonably high" standard when it comes to their foreign language skills, due to the high numbers of students doing honours level language subjects.
Brian Mooney, a career guidance teacher, disagrees. He says that we live in an Anglo-Saxon culture where "our whole thinking is through the English language, and there is a very poor ability to speak other languages. Irish students don't have the same level of proficiency."
Do we need to improve our existing language skills before taking on more languages in our schools?
Listen to the full interview below:
