Listening for Specific Information and Sounds

The learner will understand what active listening looks like, use body language to show engagement, and listen to a variety of texts for enjoyment and simple purposes.

The learner will listen to follow instructions of increasing complexity and identify specific words and individual sounds (beginning, middle, ending) in spoken words.

The learner will sustain attention through longer stories, recall details and emotional responses, and respond to texts through retelling, drawing, role-play, and questioning.

The learner will recognise themselves as a speaker and listener, take turns in conversation, and use eye contact and appropriate volume when speaking.

The learner will adapt their language and behaviour when speaking to friends, teachers, and visitors, and will consider what their listener needs to hear.

The learner will initiate, sustain, and join conversations with peers by asking questions, answering with full sentences, and recounting events in sequence.

The learner will use words to express feelings and preferences, respond empathetically to classmates, and notice how listeners respond to what is said.

The learner will understand what a conversation is, use greetings with familiar and unfamiliar people, and begin choosing appropriate words for different audiences.

The learner will adjust tone of voice, pace of speech, facial expressions, gestures, and body language to communicate clearly and show interest.

The learner will express their own feelings in words, notice how others are feeling, and adapt their tone and language to respond with empathy.

The learner will share topics in conversation, ask for help politely, use courtesy words, disagree kindly, and close conversations appropriately.

The learner will participate in pair, small group, and whole-class discussions, listening to others, building on ideas, and making shared decisions.

The learner will use spoken language to give specific, positive feedback, suggest improvements kindly, and politely request materials or help during collaborative tasks.

The learner will explain, present, and reflect on collaborative work to partners, classmates, and visitors using clear oral language.

The learner will explore how people speak different languages, connect with their own family's language, and experience songs and stories from various cultures.

The learner will recognise different accents and dialects, understand when to change speaking style, and express pride by sharing and exploring different languages.

The learner will identify key features of stories, poems, and information books, and explain why they choose a particular text for a particular purpose.

The learner will listen to stories and discuss key story elements including pictures, characters, setting, and events, and express opinions and preferences about what they heard.

The learner will make personal connections to stories, explore new vocabulary from texts, and use gestures and expressions to demonstrate understanding.

The learner will identify key information in non-fiction texts, recommend books to peers, and express understanding of stories through creative activities such as drawing, dramatising, and inventing alternative endings.

The learner will listen to Irish for the first time, show interest and enjoyment, and progress to recognising familiar words and responding to simple greetings.

The learner will listen to Irish across a variety of text types, speakers, and media, developing enjoyment and noticing how Irish sounds in different situations.

The learner will choose Irish stories, songs, and poems for pleasure, give simple reasons for their choices, and respond to texts through words, drawing, actions, and singing.

The learner will retell and share Irish stories with others, connect Irish texts to curriculum topics, create simple Irish rhymes and stories collaboratively, and celebrate their Irish language learning.

Learners will discover different types of texts, develop personal preferences, and begin sharing book choices with peers.

Learners will stretch themselves as readers by trying more challenging texts, exploring books in other languages, and using information texts to answer questions.

Learners will express opinions about characters and stories, compare texts, and present their favourite book to others.

Learners will enjoy listening to simple Irish stories read aloud and begin to understand how words and pictures work together to tell a story.

Learners will actively participate in shared reading of Irish texts, recognise themselves as readers of Irish, and enjoy looking at Irish books independently.

Learners will talk about specific words, pictures, and phrases they notice in Irish texts and share their discoveries and favourites with others.

Learners will enjoy mark-making with various tools, understand that marks and drawings communicate messages, and recognise themselves as writers.

Learners will write for a range of social and functional purposes — naming their work, sharing with others, making lists, cards, and labels — and experience writing as enjoyable and meaningful.

Learners will use drawing and emergent writing to record memories, organise their thinking, and create their own stories and books.

Learners will enjoy making marks and drawings in response to Irish words, stories, and songs, and begin to notice how their mark-making develops over time.

Learners will participate in shared and collaborative writing activities in Irish, contributing ideas and marks to group and class projects.

Learners will recognise themselves as writers in Irish, create simple individual pieces using Irish words, and share their writing with others.

Learners will notice the diversity of languages in their classroom, school, and community, share stories about languages they encounter, and develop curiosity by asking questions about languages.

Learners will investigate the origins of their own names, local place names, and everyday English words, discovering that many words come from other languages and developing wonder about word origins.

Learners will explore the building blocks of language by noticing word parts, listening for sounds across languages, spotting special letters and characters, and observing punctuation marks in different texts.

Learners will compare greetings, similar-sounding words, and shared words across English, Irish, and other languages, and notice patterns in how different languages work.

Learners will take part in simple classroom routines, follow basic instructions, and engage with the L3 through songs and games.

Learners will ask and answer simple questions about objects, colours, age, and feelings using short L3 phrases.

Learners will use polite social expressions and start and end short conversational exchanges in the L3.