And finally . . . it's a first for Japanese
Saturday June 26 2004
Under a pilot scheme funded by the Department of Education and Science and run by the Post-Primary Languages Initiative, the students were the pioneers of a two-year course, which exposed them to Japanese language and culture.
National co-ordinator of the Initiative, Bridin Gilroy, said that the success of this year's scheme "should serve as a model for the introduction of other foreign languages".
Having been introduced to Japanese in a transition year module, students opted to continue the course to Leaving Cert level by attending classes on Saturdays. And with no previous paper to rely on, there were plenty of nerves yesterday as they faced their final Leaving Cert exam.
However, there was no cause for concern, according to teacher Una McGrath, who commented that it was a "fair" paper which rewarded the students for two years of hard work by providing them with an opportunity to put their knowledge into practice.
Despite the effort involved in learning a language which comprises three alphabets, there was a keen sense of enthusiasm in the schools yesterday.
Niall McNamara (18), a student in Ard Scoil Ris in Dublin, found the course "interesting and challenging", and said: "I'm hoping to continue it next year by doing a degree in Languages for International Communications in DCU."
Joining him will be Ashbourne Community School student Ciara McNamara, who is looking forward to spending her third year of university studies in Japan.
There were 10 candidates from Coolmine Community School, Dublin. Mark McEntegart (18) admitted that taking on an extra subject had been "increasingly tedious", but completed the paper with "no bother".
- Aoife Finneran
