Bacaoanu Simona-Maria, MA in ELThe Irish Curriculum vs. the Romanian CurriculumThe National Curriculum for English as a Foreign Language

1. General Specifications of the school stepsEducation in Romaniais based on a tuition-free, egalitarian systemEducation is regulated and enforced by theMinistry of Education and Research. Kindergarten is optional under the age of six. At the age of six, children must join the "preparatory school year", which is mandatory in order to enter the first grade. Schooling starts at the age of seven, and is compulsory until the tenth grade (which corresponds with the age of sixteen or seventeen). The school educational cycle ends in the twelfth grade, when students graduate the baccalaureate. Higher education is aligned onto theEuropean Higher Education Area.State-funded education in Ireland is also available at all levels, unless parents choose to send their child to a private institution. The levels ofeducation in Irelandareprimary (6-12 years),secondary(junior cycle + senior cycle) andhigher education.TheDepartment of Education and Skills, under the control of theMinister for Education and Skills, is in overall control of policy, funding and directionAll children must receive compulsory education between the ages of five and sixteen years (junior cycle), and all children up to the age of eighteen must complete the three years of post-primary. In the English-speaking regions of Ireland (most of the state), English is the primarymedium of instructionat all levels, except inGaelscoileanna: schools in which Irish is the working language and which are increasingly popular.2. Aims of the Syllabus for the 9th and the 10th gradeIn the case of the Romanian curriculum, the curriculum for the 9th and the 10th grade, the focus of the syllabus is on: general competences (defined as structured knowledge and skill packages de which are formed throughout the entire high school period), values and attitudes (which are formed throughout the high school period according to the European values) and distinctive competences (derived from the general competences and formed during a school year) associated with content presentation forms. This association is the pivot of the curriculum, which underlines its pragmatic side: it thus becomes transparent to not only what it is taught, but especially for what some of the content is taught.The aims of the Irish secondary cycle syllabus are to develop in students: a mature and critical literacy, a respect for language, an awareness of the value of literature for enriching their perceptions, for enhancing their sense of cultural identity, in addressing these aims the syllabus will foster students' development in the following areas: concepts & processes: the ability to think, reason, discriminate and evaluate, knowledge & content: knowledge about the nature and uses of language. Skills: textual features of written and oral language to express and communicate, attitudes & effects: the development of interest in using language and an appreciation of its diverse cultural manifestations. The aims outlined here are completely interdependent. Students cannot be taught concepts, skills and processes unless they find their encounters with language meaningful. Students will not respect language and their use of it unless they feel it contributes to their sense of understanding of the world.3. Oral Communication in the Senior Cycle/ the 11th and the 12th gradeIn what respects the Irish system, the development of oracy is a significant aspiration of this syllabus. To that end the development of methodological approaches which emphasize dialogue, group-discussion, oral presentations and performances are strongly recommended. Students should be encouraged to express their opinions, speculate and engage in argument to foster their capacity to think well. The syllabus will be assessed by a terminal written examination. (The feasibility of oral and aural assessment will be researched).In Romania, students are able, at the end of the cycle to present events/experiences and express orally their feelings towards these events, describe several themes of the field of interest, sustain their personal opinions with valid arguments, give solutions to a real life problem, answer to concrete and personal questions in an interview, etc. 4. Final examination at the end of the high schoolIn Romania, the Bacalaureat is the same for all the students. It consists of 1. A listening examination in which the student has to complete some tasks on an audio tape/ recording; 2. An oral presentation of a given theme/topic/assertion. The committee evaluates both accuracy and fluency of the speech and also the interaction skills of the student in order to see if he/she is able to maintain a conversation at a constant pace. 3. The writing examination in which the student is required to write a short composition about a given topic. In the end the student receives a certificate for each competence, according to the CEFR descriptors.In Ireland, the final examination (The Leaving Certificate) differs according to the profile of the Senior Cycle type of course. There are: students following the Leaving Certificate (Established) who wish to follow higher education courses, the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA) (students who do not wish to proceed directly to higher education and the Leaving Certificate Vocational Program (LCVP) is a Leaving Certificate with a focus on enterprise and preparation for working life. The examination for English is focused on literary text comprehension and students receive a set of questions they have to answer.