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<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR style='color:#1F497D'>FYI (seen on the Marga
list [Songhay language(s) group])…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR style='color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><span lang=EN-IE style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'>Gaeilgeoirí
better at maths in Irish</span></strong><span lang=EN-IE style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><br>
<br>
Native Irish-speaking maths students may not be displaying their true numerical
knowhow when tested in English, new research revealed today.<br>
<br>
A study found pupils moving from Gaelic-only primary schools to English-medium
secondary education scored almost 9% higher when quizzed in their mother
tongue.<br>
<br>
But despite the language gap, number-crunching Irish-speakers still
outperformed their classmates by 5% when tested in English.<br>
<br>
Researcher Dr Máire Ní Riordáin said a specially devised 12-question maths
paper pinpointed specific translation problems encountered by the 37
participating Gaeilgeoirí.<br>
<br>
“They may, for example, have been confused by the words
’multiple’ and ’multiply’ in one question and may have
been unsure of the difference in meaning,” she said.<br>
<br>
Dr Ní Riordáin suggested tests of Gaeilgeoiri in second-level schools
could be initially conducted in Irish to ensure they reflected true mathematical
ability.<br>
<br>
The University of Limerick study involved two parallel English and
Irish-language word problem tests devised using standard maths textbooks for
12-year-olds.<br>
<br>
The results revealed that Irish-speaking pupils answered four questions equally
well in both languages, while one question appeared to be easier in English.<br>
<br>
In nine questions, however, they performed 10 per cent better in their mother
tongue.<br>
<br>
A smaller survey of students in the first year of third-level education found
some mathematics terms such as ’numerator’ and
’denominator’ proved tricky for Gaeilgeoirí.<br>
<br>
“I believe this is because they would have acquired these words through
the medium of Gaeilge at a young age and would not have encountered the English
versions of these words,” Dr Ní Riordáin said.<br>
<br>
The findings, presented at a British Educational Research Association
conference in Manchester, echoed a 2005 New Zealand study which found students
with English as a second language experienced a 10 to 15% disadvantage because
of language problems.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-IE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-IE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><i><span lang=EN-IE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
"Verdana","sans-serif"'>*Story reported in the Metro newspaper: Thur Aug 3<sup>rd</sup>
2009<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-IE style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"MS Reference Sans Serif","sans-serif";
color:#002060'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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