Mullingar students showing german visitors what irish life is like

At one time there was just one German class per year at Coláiste Mhuire in Mullingar – but to accommodate the level of interest in the language among the last two years’ intakes, the school has had to timetable two classes for the First Years and two for the Second Years.
It’s hardly surprising then that the school was full of excitement on Monday of this week, as 13 exchange students from the German town of Schwedt arrived for their first day of classes alongside Coláiste Mhuire students. In February, students from Mullingar travelled to Schwedt and attended school there for a week.
“We’ve been having exchanges for 10 years now,” says Mullingar German teacher, Kathleen Cooke, who revealed that the level of interest in German has doubled in Coláiste Mhuire in the last four years.
“I presume it has something to do with the economic upturn in Germany,” she says.
The benefits to the Mullingar students who travel to Germany are immediate, Kathleen says, even though the exchange lasts just a week.
“I would notice a difference in their confidence. It gives them huge confidence, in that they see a practical reason for learning the language,” she says.
For the young Germans who are here, their week will see them accompany 5th year students to their normal classes – with one significant difference: “There’s a special Irish class for them, which will be given by Miss Downes, the other German teacher in the school, who also teaches Irish,” says Kathleen.
The school has, in fact, gone to a lot of effort arranging opportunities for the young visitors to see different aspects of Irish culture – starting with an Irish-style breakfast in the school canteen on Monday morning, and including, at other times, an introduction to Gaelic games and to Irish music.
The 5th years have also drawn up a walking tour of Mullingar, and will take their guests along that route.
While in Ireland, the students are hosted by local families – in the same way as when the Irish students travel to Schwedt, which is in the north east of Germany, they stay with families who have students attending the host school.
In many cases, the friendships formed during those exchanges endure, Ms Cooke says.
Accompanying the German students was their teacher Christiane Pohle-Hahn, who has been here several times. She says that Mullingar and Schwedt are comparable in size.
Since arriving on Saturday, the students had been getting to know their host families. “Their families are very nice, and they do loads of things with them in the afternoons, and the school is very welcoming,” she stated.