English

Brief Description

English is an international language. It is either spoken, or being learned by people in almost every part of the world.

In Junior Cycle English, you will have many opportunities to be creative, to use your imagination, and to find out about great writers. You will also learn how to communicate more effectively with others and to express your point of view in many different ways.

By the end of the Junior Cycle course, you should be better able to understand your world and to express what you think about it.

How will English be useful to me?

You can continue to improve your English all your life. The better you are at English the more you are likely to enjoy speaking, reading and writing. Any third level course in English provides you with skills for a variety of positions in business, government, research, education, publishing, as well as in the cultural, entertainment, and communications industries.

The New English Course for Junior Cycle students from 2014 onwards, aims to develop students’ knowledge of language and literature, to consolidate and deepen their literacy skills and make them more self-aware as learners. More specifically it encourages all students:

  • to be creative through language and to gain enjoyment and continuing personal growth from English in all its forms
  • to develop control over English using it and responding to it with purpose and effect through the interconnected literacy skills of oral language, reading and writing
  • to engage personally with and think critically about an increasingly broad range of spoken, written and multimodal texts
  • to develop an informed appreciation of literature through personal encounters with a variety of literary texts
  • to use their literacy skills to manage information needs, and find, use, synthesise, evaluate and communicate information using a variety of media
  • to gain an understanding of the grammar and conventions of English and how they might be used to promote clear and effective communication