Beginner
60 mins
Teacher/Student led
+80 XP

Home Languages Beyond English and Irish

Discover the languages spoken in Irish homes besides English and Irish. Locate their origins on a map of Europe and discuss whether schools should offer them to students who already speak them at home.

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    1 - After English and Irish ~5 mins

    After English and Irish, what do you think is the most spoken language in Ireland at home? Take a quiet guess first. We will check the answer later.

    By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

    • Name major home languages spoken in Ireland beyond English and Irish
    • Find on a map where those languages come from in Europe
    • Talk about whether schools should offer languages children already speak at home

    2 - Three Family Words, Five Languages ~10 mins

    Watch three family words on the board across languages you may hear in Ireland and in school (English, Irish, French, German, Spanish). Listen together, say each word back as a class, and listen for words that sound almost the same.

    3 - Languages on the Europe Map ~10 mins

    We will explore the Europe map on the board together. Watch the countries that get tapped and the language names that appear. Notice how a language can travel far from the place it started.

    Example

    After a few stops we will pin a short list everyone can see, for example:

    • Polish: Poland
    • Lithuanian: Lithuania
    • Romanian: Romania

    4 - Three Languages in Your Copy ~3 mins

    COPYBOOK MOMENT

    Open your copy and write three languages spoken in Ireland that are not English or Irish, and one place each is spoken. Use the short list on the board if you like.

    5 - Cousin Hunt on the Table ~10 mins

    Look at the same three family words in a table across five languages on the board. Your only job: find one pair that still sound like cousins. Be ready to point and tell the class which two you chose.

    Pupil practice
    Module 1 · The Language Map of the World
    Lesson 2 · Home Languages Beyond English and Irish
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