Page 286 - Karmen Pižorn, Alja Lipavic Oštir in Janja Žmavc, ur. • Obrazi več-/raznojezičnosti. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut, 2022. Digitalna knjižnica, Dissertationes 44
P. 286
n asked where she spoke Slovakian she said: I speak Slovakian at home
and when we come to Slovakian so then we speak Slovakian. She said she
used English in school, when we play on yard and yeah with teacher, and ex-
plained that sometimes when teachers come, we say “Dia dhuit fáilte rom-
hat isteach”. Asked about her writing skills, she said she could write some in
Irish like “is maith leat”. I can write some sentences, and English I normally
write, and Slovakian I really good, I really know how to write that, and Pol-
ish no, I just understand.
Linguistic self-awareness sometimes morphs into more general lan-
guage awareness. Another Slovakian speaker, this time in Senior Infants
(5 years old), was singing an action song in Irish. The song contained a
number of words with the /ch/ sound, which she produced very compe-
tently. Watching the child’s performance, a Special Needs Assistant whose
home language was Italian complimented her on her use of ‘that strange
/ch/ sound in Irish’. The pupil responded indignantly: It is not a strange
sound. That sound is in my language too.
When introducing and discussing new concepts, teachers routinely
ask EAL pupils to contribute words from their home languages for purpos-
es of comparison and contrast. This has a strong positive impact on the de-
velopment of pupils’ English vocabulary. For example, fractions are intro-
duced in Third Class, when pupils are 8½+ years old. One teacher did this
by associating fraction with fracture and eliciting synonyms (break, split).
She also asked for words for break in other languages. A Romanian pupil
offered rupt, which others were quick to link to the eruption of a volcano,
interruption and disruption. Also in a Third Class maths lesson, the teach-
er asked “What is an oblique line?” Another Romanian pupil suggested
that it was like oblig in her language, which meant something you must do.
When the teacher explained the difference between oblique and oblige, an
Irish pupil noted that obligatory is like Romanian oblig, and a Filipino pu-
pil offered obligate. A Lithuanian pupil then answered the teacher’s original
question: There’s an oblique line on the end of the letter q.
2.3.2 Proficiency in Irish
Pupils develop high levels of proficiency in Irish. Scoil Bhríde has a long-es-
tablished tradition of teaching Irish through Irish, and (as noted above)
Irish is sometimes used in lessons whose purpose is not primarily to teach
the language. Teachers often address pupils in Irish outside the classroom
and expect them to reply in Irish. This emphasis on Irish as a medium of
286
and when we come to Slovakian so then we speak Slovakian. She said she
used English in school, when we play on yard and yeah with teacher, and ex-
plained that sometimes when teachers come, we say “Dia dhuit fáilte rom-
hat isteach”. Asked about her writing skills, she said she could write some in
Irish like “is maith leat”. I can write some sentences, and English I normally
write, and Slovakian I really good, I really know how to write that, and Pol-
ish no, I just understand.
Linguistic self-awareness sometimes morphs into more general lan-
guage awareness. Another Slovakian speaker, this time in Senior Infants
(5 years old), was singing an action song in Irish. The song contained a
number of words with the /ch/ sound, which she produced very compe-
tently. Watching the child’s performance, a Special Needs Assistant whose
home language was Italian complimented her on her use of ‘that strange
/ch/ sound in Irish’. The pupil responded indignantly: It is not a strange
sound. That sound is in my language too.
When introducing and discussing new concepts, teachers routinely
ask EAL pupils to contribute words from their home languages for purpos-
es of comparison and contrast. This has a strong positive impact on the de-
velopment of pupils’ English vocabulary. For example, fractions are intro-
duced in Third Class, when pupils are 8½+ years old. One teacher did this
by associating fraction with fracture and eliciting synonyms (break, split).
She also asked for words for break in other languages. A Romanian pupil
offered rupt, which others were quick to link to the eruption of a volcano,
interruption and disruption. Also in a Third Class maths lesson, the teach-
er asked “What is an oblique line?” Another Romanian pupil suggested
that it was like oblig in her language, which meant something you must do.
When the teacher explained the difference between oblique and oblige, an
Irish pupil noted that obligatory is like Romanian oblig, and a Filipino pu-
pil offered obligate. A Lithuanian pupil then answered the teacher’s original
question: There’s an oblique line on the end of the letter q.
2.3.2 Proficiency in Irish
Pupils develop high levels of proficiency in Irish. Scoil Bhríde has a long-es-
tablished tradition of teaching Irish through Irish, and (as noted above)
Irish is sometimes used in lessons whose purpose is not primarily to teach
the language. Teachers often address pupils in Irish outside the classroom
and expect them to reply in Irish. This emphasis on Irish as a medium of
286
