“…They claim that, in early vocabulary learning at least, teaching decoding skills should help learners acquire the patterns of sound-spelling relations needed for fluent Irish reading. Similarly, they (Stenson & Hickey, 2016) argue that, despite its greater regularity, Irish spelling is sufficiently complex and distinct from English to challenge learners and require explicit instruction. In another article, Hickey and Stenson (2016) review the societal and educational changes relevant to teaching Irish in mainstream (English-medium) schools that, according to the authors, include a major shift in the curricular approach to teaching Irish, as well as changes in the status of Irish in the wider society.…”