An investigation into the effectiveness of using child created video in the learning and retention of the Irish language in an Irish primary school

This thesis looks at the use of child created video as an aid in the learning and retention of the Irish language in an Irish Primary School. It also investigated the effect of using these child created videos on the motivation of children to learn the Irish language. The methodology used in this research utilised a Task Based Language Learning and Teaching model. The study found that the use of child created video was beneficial to children enabling them to develop greater skills in automaticity, fluency and language output in the target language. The study also found that the actual creation of the videos by the children led to greater retention of the language in comparison with vocabulary learned using traditional methods. The new methodology also led to increased levels of motivation to learn the Irish language amongst the children. Many reported they were more positive about learning the language after the introduction of the new methodology. The attitudes and beliefs of children, teachers and parents towards the Irish language were also explored to better understand the current standing of the Irish language in Ireland. The study found that the attitudes of teachers towards the Irish language was primarily positive though many would prefer to see a greater emphasis on oral language development at primary level. Parents were found to have a complex mix of attitudes towards the Irish language. While many could express positive reasons to learn the language a substantial minority made very little effort to speak the actual language.