At Bunscoill Ghaelgagh the children learn Manx in an immersion setting, emerging as confident Manx and English speakers at the end of Key Stage 2.
In their Reception Year, the children broadly follow the Early Years Foundation Curriculum, but they will need to learn certain concepts in a more structured manner in order to ensure the building of key grammar and vocabulary.
In KS1 the children follow a skills based curriculum, similar to that in english medium schools, but with all subjects being taught exclusively through Manx. It is expected that assessment results for literacy as reported to DEC and parents at the end of KS1 may not be comparable as our results are for reading and writing in their new second language, and their may be a delay in acquisition of literacy skills due to the child is coping with two languages, and to phonic differences between Manx and English.
In KS2 children continue to have most of the curriculum delivered through Manx, with the exception of weekly English language lessons and some reading time in English. By the end of Key Stage 2 our results compare favourably with those of English medium schools.
*6 oyryn mie/ 6 good reasons*
• Children who learn two languages have a head start when reading and counting.
They often do better in exams later on.
• Learning two languages is easier for young children.
• Knowledge of two languages provides increased skills to employers. There are a
growing number of jobs for Manx speakers, particularly in education.
• It gives you a buzz to be able to switch from one language to another. Speaking both
languages opens doors to make new friends.
• Most people throughout the world can speak more than one language. After learning
two, it’s much easier to learn more. Manx gives you a good start.
• Both English and Manx are like treasure troves, full of stories and songs, history and
fun. Your child will have the best of both worlds.
Find out more about the Manx language, and how to learn it, by following the links below.
http://www.learnmanx.com/
http://www.culturevannin.im/
http://www.mooinjerveggey.org.im/