Catering for the new Ireland: The State Exams Commission is providing an impressive range of language exams for foreign nationals, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor

In a trend which reflects the changing face of Irish society, Leaving Cert exams will be provided in some 25 different languages.

There are currently well-established exams in Irish, English, Ancient Greek, Arabic, French, German, Hebrew studies, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and Russian, but the exams commission also provides exams in what it calls non-curricular EU languages.

These are languages which do not appear as part of the normal school curriculum but which students may choose if they meet certain criteria.

In practical terms a Latvian, for example, can opt to be examined in his or her native language.

In such cases the student must meet the following criteria:

• they must be from a member state of the EU;

• they must speak the language in which they opt to be examined in as a mother tongue;

• students can only take one non-curricular EU language;

• they must have followed a programme of study leading to the Leaving Cert;

• they must be taking Leaving Cert English.

This year, students will be examined in a number of subjects for the first time, including Latvian, Slovakian, Lithuanian and Hungarian.

The numbers taking these exams are small for now - less than a dozen candidates sit some of them - but they are expected to increase significantly over the next decade.

Exams of this type were first offered almost 10 years ago when the likes of Dutch and Portuguese were examined.

The exams commission says it will, where possible, respond positively when a native speaker requests an exam in their own language.

In a policy paper, the commission says: "The policy has been to accede to these requests in the case of the national languages of EU states in line with the commitment made by member states under article 149 of the Treaty of Nice."

So, how are standards set and maintained? The exams are based on the first foreign language final written paper of the European Baccalaureate.

This is a kind of international Leaving Cert, widely used in European and other international schools, where there is a high proportion of expatriates.

The exams are prepared in conjunction with the academic board and the board of inspectors of the European schools.

A chief advising examiner from the exams commission oversees the exam.

There are regular meetings with examiners in other subjects to ensure common academic standards. The exams are set and marked by subject experts from the European schools.

 Languages: options

This year students can opt to be examined in the following language subjects:

Czech (2004)

Greek (Modern)

Portuguese (1998)

Dutch

Hungarian (2006)

Slovakian (2006)

Danish (1998)

Latvian (2006)

Swedish (1998)

Estonian (2005)

Lithuanian (2006)

Finnish

Polish (2004).

The year (where available) in which the language was first examined is in brackets.