10 October, 2014 - Director of the Post-Primary Languages Initiative awarded for her work promoting Japanese in Schools

Karen Ruddock, Director of the Post-Primary Languages Initiative (PPLI) which is supported by the Department of Education and Skills, has been awarded a commendation by the Japanese Ambassador to Ireland. The award by Ambassador Chihiro Atsumi, is in recognition of Ms Ruddock’s outstanding support for Japanese language education in Ireland.  

The PPLI was set up in 2000 to enhance and expand the teaching of foreign languages in post-primary schools. The introduction of Japanese as a subject forms part of the work on diversification of languages in schools.

Japanese has proven to be a popular subject in the 33 schools where it is on the curriculum. Since its introduction, 16,000 students have taken Japanese as part of their TY programme and 1,800 students have taken the Leaving Certificate examination.

Welcoming news of the award, the Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O'Sullivan TD, said: "This reflects the investment, support and encouragement which Japanese language learning has received here in Ireland. I would like to thank the Japanese Government for its assistance in the development of Japanese provision in our schools, and I look forward to continuing this co-operation in relation to Japanese language teaching."

ENDS