TTG

STATE EXAMINATIONS COMMISSION

COURSE AND EXAMINATIONS FOR TEASTAS I dTEAGASC NA GAEILGE

PRELIMINARY INFORMATION

Aim of the Course:

  1. (a) This course aims to give postprimary teachers training and guidance in the teaching methods of Irish. Suitably qualified candidates may be awarded a Teastas i dTeagasc na Gaeilge (Certificate in Teaching Irish – T.T.G.) as a result of the course, provided they pass the examinations that are held at the end of the course.

Those who already have this qualification will be permitted to do the course again as a refresher course and those individuals do not need to have Irish as a degree subject.

(b)This is a recognized course, and subsistence and travel allowancesmay be paid under certain conditions.

(c)The attention of applicants is drawn to the following excerpt from Memorandum V.7 which sets out the qualifications that fulltime Irish teachers must have under the Vocational Educational Committees:

(i)A degree from a recognized degree-awarding authority or an accepted postprimary teaching qualification

and

the Certificate in Teaching Irish - T.T.G

OR

(ii)A degree from a recognized degree-awarding authority with Irish as a subject in the final degree examination

and

the Higher Diploma in Education or an accepted qualification of the same standard.

Applicants who may be accepted for the course:

2. (a) Applications will be accepted from those who

(i)have a full degree from a degree-awarding authority, with Irish as a subject in the final examination

OR

(ii)have finished the course for the full degree, with Irish as a subject, but who have not yet been awarded the qualification

OR

(iii)who achieve a pass in the qualification examination in Modern Irish which is set by a recognized University and which is of the same standard as the examination for the B.A degree

(b) Applications will also be accepted from primary teachers who were awarded a B.Ed with Irish or Academic Irish as one of their degree subjects.

(c) Since this is a qualifying course and the person who receives the Certificate will be entitled to teach Irish to Leaving Certificate level, he/she will have to undertake comprehensive preparation. The guidelines for course preparation are set out in the booklist. Each applicant should complete the Application Form fully and carefully to enable his/her suitability for the course to be assessed fairly.

Examinations:

3. (a) Tests will be held on the last week of the course

(b) Candidates will not be permitted to be examined in any of the tests if he/she has not attended satisfactorily the complete course for Teastas i dTeagasc na Gaeilge. Candidates must be present on the first day of the course.

(c)Examinations:-

(i)Written Examinations:

Principles of Language Teaching: There are two parts:-

Part I – General Teaching Methods

Part II – Language Teaching Methods

(ii)Practical Examination:-

Teaching Test: Teach a Lesson

(iii)Oral Examinations:

Spoken Irish – Fluency of speech, phonetics and pronunciation, grammatical accuracy; description of context, general issues pertaining to education and teaching. A knowledge of Literature in Irish is included.

(iv)Suitability:- The following will assist candidates:

Studies undertaken in Irish, in education or in language teaching methods, personality, ability to articulate, progress achieved, etc. Extra credit will be given to applicants who have the following abilities:

Singing, Music, Dancing, Acting/Drama Production, teaching European languages; or who have a qualification in education, or who have satisfactory experience of teaching, or who hold any other qualification which would assist them in teaching.

(d)Subjects (i) and (ii) above will be taught and practised during the course, and personal direction and guidance will be given as necessary.

(e) In the practical examination half the marks will be awarded in the final course tests and the remaining half will be awarded for the candidate’s performance during the course from its commencement with the exception of the first teaching practice.

Rules for Awarding the Certificate:

4. (a) To be awarded the Certificate, candidates must achieve a minimum of

50% in each subject mentioned in (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv), above.

(b)The Certificate will be awarded with Honours to candidates who achieve 70% of the total marks in the subjects (i) to (iv), without the mark in any subject falling below 50%. To that end, it is necessary to attend a full course and to sit all the tests at the end of that course.

(c)Repeat examination: A candidate may sit any of the examinations (i), (ii), (iii) again to gain the certificate. A candidate who asks to sit a repeat examination in any subject without attending that particular year’s course, must get permission from the State Examinations Commission and the Senior Tutor must have evidence of that permission in hand on the Friday before the beginning of the tests at the latest.

50% must be achieved in each section of the examination in order ro pass. Suitability will also be considered again.

(d)Candidates who are accepted according to paragraph 2 (a)(ii) who have not yet been awarded suitable qualifications will not be eligible to receive the T.T.G until they have been awarded those qualifications.

Certificate of Attendance

  1. Those who attend the course satisfactorily will be eligible to receive an Attendance Certificate signed by the Senior Tutor.

Applications

6. The booklist and application forms for the course and examinations can be obtained by downloading from the website or from

Margaret Hanley/ Bernie Flynn

T.S. Section

The State Examinations Commission

Cornamaddy

Athlone

Co. Westmeath

Tel: 09064 42830 /6442729

Closing date for applications is the 30th May 2008.