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Minister Foley announces Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone as winners of the #ThinkLanguages competition

Minister Foley today announced that Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone has won the #ThinkLanguages competition for a trip to Brussels.

The competition is part of #ThinkLanguages week which took place between 27 November and 1 December 2023 and is a joint collaboration between Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) and the Department of Foreign Affairs under Languages Connect and the Careeer for EU strategy.

ThinkLanguages is an annual event for Transition Year (TY) students, celebrating languages inside and outside of the classroom and thinking about how languages can enhance life’s opportunities.

Minister Foley said:

“I am delighted to present this prize for the #ThinkLanguages Champion Team to Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone. All the schools involved have shown great creativity, teamwork and enthusiasm for languages and the competition was fierce. I want to congratulate the three finalists for being chosen as Champion Teams."

Minister Foley added:

“The department is committed to increasing and diversifying the foreign languages taught and learnt in our schools and I know that through participation in the #ThinkLanguages event, TY students will gain an appreciation of the benefits of learning languages, not only for future career options in a globalised world, but for social and cultural interactions."

Peter Burke TD, Minister of State for European Affairs and Defence said:

"I would encourage the students participating in #ThinkLanguages to keep up their language studies at third level and beyond. There are a large number of exciting opportunities for young people to pursue careers in EU institutions such as the European Parliament or European Commission, and having a second EU language is vital for pursuing these careers. Both English and Irish (as well as French, Spanish, German, Polish, etc) are among the 24 official EU languages.

"The work of the EU is wide-ranging, so it recruits people with a variety of skill sets and backgrounds such as (but not limited to) law, science, economics, agriculture, technology and languages. It is a rewarding career path in which you would work to improve the lives of 450 million EU citizens, and your interest in languages will certainly help you to get there."

180 schools and over 15,000 TY students participated in the event this year, by holding a languages event in their school celebrating the personal, social and career benefits of foreign language learning.

Schools are encouraged to welcome local speakers, involving school staff and students, engaging with local businesses and organisations for a wide variety of language filled activities, talks, games and workshops. Supports and resources are provided by PPLI including instructional videos, pre-recorded Opening Ceremony and language workshops, resources and event kits.

Schools submited the line up for their event in order to be chosen for entry into the competition and a panel of field judges visited the selected schools during #ThinkLanguages week to meet the teams and see their activities. Three schools were shortlisted:

  • Our Lady’s Boyer in Athlone
  • Killarney Community College
  • Our Lady of Mercy, Waterford

The winning team from Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone and two teachers will get the opportunity to visit Brussels and the various EU institutions and sites as well as a visit to the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the EU, Ireland’s largest diplomatic mission abroad.

Notes

Languages Connect, Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017 – 2026

Languages Connect aims to increase and diversify the range of foreign languages taught and learned across the education system.

Some of the key achievements to date include:

  • the introduction of 4 new leaving certificate curricular languages from September 2020 (Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Polish an Portuguese)
  • an increase in the number of Foreign Language Assistants coming to Ireland from 110 to 181
  • roll out of the Say Yes to Languages sampler module at primary level
  • inclusion of Foreign Languages in the Primary Curriculum Framework – for introduction in senior classes at primary level (3rd to 6th class) from September 2025
  • awareness raising campaign to increase awareness about the importance and benefits of learning foreign languages – including the #Thinklanguages event
  • funding for school exchanges, foreign language library books, and teacher upskilling

The strategy is currently under review with a view to publishing a follow on implementation plan to 2026 in the coming months.

Post Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI)

PPLI is fully funded by the department to deliver a wide range of actions set out in the Languages Connect strategy. www.Ppli.ie

Some of PPLIs work includes supporting the implementation of the new Leaving Certificate languages, managing the Say Yes to Languages sampler module, holding the annual #ThinkLanguages event and hosting the www.languagesconnect.ie website.

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