French

The general educational aims of a foreign language teaching are:

1. to make it possible for pupils to take up job and further education/training opportunities, which may involve some use of the target language (increasingly important in the context of the development of the E.U.)
2. to develop the pupils’ capacity to engage in useful interactions in another language.
3. to give pupils an awareness of another culture.
4. to contribute to pupils’ awareness of language as a system of communication.
5. to develop an awareness of the grammatical structure of language.
6. to encourage and equip pupils to participate in social and cultural activities, involving use of the target language. to give pupils the kind of language learning experience that will encourage and facilitate their learning other languages later in life.

The Leaving Certificate examination at both higher and ordinary levels consists of:

1. An oral examination
2. A listening comprehension test
3. Reading comprehension tests
4. Various tests of written production, including letter writing.