The ability to speak, read and think in several languages matters more and more in today’s world of artificial intelligence, geopolitical reordering and economic reconfiguration. Skills of understanding, insight into other cultures and critical thinking about alternatives are indispensable tools for navigating a world dominated by big corporate entities using technology to reinforce their power.

Ireland has progressive policy positions on language learning, but conspicuously lags in the schools offering them, in teaching methods, abilities and the numbers studying languages in universities. More than 200 languages are spoken in this State by a population of whom one fifth were born elsewhere and who would benefit from having English to work and live here. They bring new energy to reviving the Irish language in schools and communities. We need to recognise and value their languages if this new multiculturalism is to be linked with an engaging interculturalism.

A recent valuable survey of language trends in Irish post-primary schools by the British Council in co-operation with the Department of Education and Skills shows pupils and teachers are willing to take up modern European languages; many do so for the Leaving Certificate. Spanish has overtaken French as the most preferred language, with German and Italian less popular. Other languages, such as Polish, Romanian, Russian and Arabic, are popular and may also........

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