Benefits of All-Irish Education
According to research on bilingual education, here are some of the benefits to students:
- Higher academic performance (Gallagher & Hanna, 2002).
- A greater ability to learn a third and fourth language (Cenoz & Valencia 1994).
- Understanding and openness towards other cultures (Gallagher & Hanna, 2002).
- An improvement in cognitive functioning in creativeness and communication (Bialystok et al. 2005).
- Higher grades in English and in Mathematics (Ionad Taighde Oideachais, 2011)
- A higher awareness of identity, culture and understanding of community (Baker, 2003)
- An increase in self-confidence (Baker, 2003)
- Improved communication and social skills (Cummins, 2000)
When raised through the medium of Irish, valuable advantages can be seen in the fields of:
- The speed at which writing and reading is learned
- The ability to comprehend and learn more complex languages
- The development of communication and social skills
- Future employability and willingness to learn
- Creative thinking development
- Being central to the modern revival of the Irish language
- Economic and socio-economic success
