Over 17,500 students across 240 schools nationwide recently celebrated #ThinkLanguages Week 2025, embracing the opportunity to explore the world of foreign languages and discovering their immense benefits.
In a country where over 750,000 people speak a language other than English or Irish at home, language learning is no longer a niche pursuit—it’s a national opportunity.
By embracing language learning, we promote social cohesion, unlock new economic potential, and equip future generations to engage confidently on the global stage.
Aligned with this, the annual #ThinkLanguages Week is more than a celebration; it’s a call to action. It reminds us that every new language learned is a step toward deeper understanding—of others, and of ourselves.
READ MORE
Language and belonging: A human need
Language shapes how we see ourselves and connect with others. For students who hear and/or speak languages other than English and Irish at home, learning that language in school helps strengthen their sense of identity and family ties. Seeing one’s language represented in classrooms builds confidence, as students who feel seen and heard are significantly more likely to feel motivated and engaged in their learning as indicated by Hiver, Al-Hoorie and Mercer in 2021. For other students, engaging with new languages - especially through activities such as those available during #ThinkLanguages Week - fosters empathy, intercultural awareness, and a sense of global citizenship. Mouboua, Atobatele and Akintayo in 2024 highlighted that exposure to diverse languages and cultures encourages curiosity and respect, enriching both language development and community connection.
In Manor House School, where I teach French, workshops given by our Transition Years presenting languages they speak at home have long been a highlight of our annual #ThinkLanguages celebration. This year students had the opportunity to learn about Hindi, Arabic, Polish, Portuguese, Ukrainian, Malayalam and Bisaya from their peers. This provided a wonderful insight into life outside the school and celebrated our diverse community.
Languages: A lifelong skill for a changing world
In Ireland, where migration has enriched communities with over 200 languages, intercultural competence is not a luxury - it’s a necessity. Language learning equips young people with the tools to thrive in multicultural environments, collaborate across borders, and contribute meaningfully to a diverse society. Schools that embrace linguistic and cultural diversity prepare students not only for exams, but for life. #ThinkLanguages Week provides schools with a great opportunity to make this tangible with language and cultural workshops that take language learning out of the classroom and into the wider school and local community.
At Manor House, we have previously welcomed a visiting Romanian teacher and hosted Portuguese Capoeira and Japanese drumming sessions. This year we were delighted to have a language ambassador from TU Dublin come to speak to all Transition Years. Activities such as these highlight that language learning is not just about communication - it’s about competence, confidence, and connection. This connection and confidence can take them far beyond the school gates both personally and professionally. In today’s globalised world, the ability to understand and engage with diverse cultures is a key skill across every sector - from healthcare and education to business and diplomacy.
The Council of Europe’s education framework highlights how language learners becoming plurilingual develop the ability to navigate multiple cultural contexts. This intercultural competence fosters empathy, adaptability, and global awareness - skills that are increasingly essential in both personal and professional life.
A powerful example of this in action is Méabh McMahon, a European affairs correspondent for Euronews based in Brussels. Méabh lent her support to this year’s #ThinkLanguages Week by participating in an opening ceremony which aired into schools to launch the celebrations and was a particular highlight for my students this year. Highly proficient in French, German, Spanish, Irish and English, Méabh uses her language skills daily to engage with global leaders, moderate high-level panels, and present news across multiple languages.
Her journey—from learning German through a school exchange, studying European studies at Trinity College Dublin, and completing an Erasmus in Hamburg to working in Spain—illustrates how language learning opens doors to international careers and meaningful cross-cultural connections. For Méabh, language is not just a professional asset—it’s a bridge between people and perspectives.
The role of technology: A powerful ally, not a replacement
It can’t be denied that technology can, and will, transform how we learn languages. From mobile apps and online platforms to AI-powered translation tools, learners today have access to a wealth of resources that offer flexibility, personalisation, and exposure to real-world language use. These innovations have made language learning more accessible than ever, breaking down barriers of time, geography, and cost.
Yet, while artificial intelligence continues to advance - offering real-time translation and adaptive learning - these tools remain just that: tools. They can support learning, but they cannot replace the human experience of language. Understanding idioms, humour, tone, and cultural nuance require more than vocabulary - it demands empathy, immersion, and lived experience. Language is not just a code to be cracked; it’s a way of seeing the world, of connecting with others, and of understanding identity.
In this context, technology should be seen as a powerful support in the classroom and beyond, but never a substitute for the rich, human-centred process of language learning. Schools, and students, can leverage digital tools while also championing the social, emotional, and cultural dimensions of language learning that only people can provide.
Languages Connect: A strategy for Ireland’s future
#ThinkLanguages Week is built on the core foundations of Languages Connect - Ireland’s Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education, which is designed to build a more inclusive, outward-looking and opportunity-rich society. It champions a multilingual Ireland where every language - whether taught in schools or spoken at home - adds value to our national identity and global engagement.
This global engagement is already visible in Ireland’s participation in EU-wide education and mobility programmes, such as Erasmus+, where language skills enable students and professionals to collaborate, study, and work across borders. This building of international networks brings home new perspectives that enrich Irish society. Whilst the strategy is about increasing language uptake, it is also about transforming how we think about languages: as tools for connection, empathy, and lifelong opportunity. It supports languages in the community in addition to English and Irish, promotes diversity in language provision, and empowers learners from all backgrounds to see language as part of who they are and who they can become.
#ThinkLanguages Week brings this vision to life. It’s a celebration of the strategy’s message that languages open doors. Not just to careers, but to cultures, communities, and confidence. It’s about preparing young people not just for exams, but for a future where language is a bridge, not a barrier.
For more information and resources visit languagesconnect.ie.
About the author: Gemma Kelly has over 20 years’ experience teaching French and German and is a teacher at Manor House School, Raheny, where she leads the school’s Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) initiatives and coordinates EPAS and Erasmus+ programmes. Manor House earned the LabelFrancÉducation in 2024 for its bilingual TY programme, enabling students to study subjects like history and geography through French. Gemma is currently pursuing a PhD in education at Maynooth University focused on CLIL. She has also been an associate teacher with Post-Primary Languages Ireland (PPLI) since 2019.
