Senior Cycle
Senior Cycle
Leaving Certificate: Fifth and Sixth Year
There are many options for studying foreign languages for the Leaving Cert which can be defined as curricular and non-curricular subjects. Current curricular languages include French, German, Italian and Spanish, as well as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, and Russian. Ancient Greek or Hebrew Studies are also curricular.
Any European Union language not offered as a curricular language is available as a non-curricular language paper option: e.g. Czech, Dutch, Hungarian, Romanian. Ukrainian is also available as a non-curricular examination paper for those sitting the Leaving Certificate from 2025 onwards.
See this information sheet to learn more about studying languages at Leaving Cert level.
More Recently Added Curricular Languages
In 2020, four more languages – Chinese, Lithuanian, Polish and Portuguese – were added as curricular languages for those sitting the Leaving Cert from 2022 onwards. For information on the more recently added curricular languages, including specification, supports and assessments, click the individual language below, or the FAQs.
Mandarin Chinese was added as curricular language for those sitting the Leaving Cert from 2022 onwards. For information on the more recently added curricular language, including specification, supports and assessments, click here.
For more information, see Leaving Cert Mandarin Chinese FAQs
Lithuanian was added as curricular language for those sitting the Leaving Cert from 2022 onwards. For information on the more recently added curricular language, including specification, supports and assessments, click here.
For more information, see Leaving Cert Lithuanian FAQs.
Polish was added as curricular language for those sitting the Leaving Cert from 2022 onwards. For information on the more recently added curricular language, including specification, supports and assessments, click here.
For more information, see Leaving Cert Polish FAQs
Portuguese was added as curricular language for those sitting the Leaving Cert from 2022 onwards. For information on the more recently added curricular language, including specification, supports and assessments, click here.
For more information, see Leaving Cert Portuguese FAQs
Studying foreign languages for Leaving Cert outside of school
If you are interested in the more recently added curricular languages, but cannot access them within your own school, check out our Saturday classes. These classes are fully funded by the Department of Education and cover the whole Leaving Cert course over 2 years.
Non Curricular Languages
The Leaving Cert also has exam options for non-curricular languages. These languages are typically not available as subject areas within schools. The exams for non-curricular languages have reading and written assessments only. According to the State Examinations Commission website, students may opt to be examined in a non-curricular language if they meet certain criteria.
Ukrainian is now available as a non-curricular examination paper for those sitting the Leaving Certificate from 2025
onwards. See this information sheet for more details on Ukrainian as a non-curricular Leaving Certificate examination paper.
Lots more info available…
- For what to expect on the Leaving Cert course, check out our Languages Leaving Cert Videos for all you need to know.
- Still unsure about which language to choose? Find inspiration and information about the benefits of learning different languages at Explore Languages.
- Hear from people who work in many different industries talk about how they use languages every day in our At Work section.
- For even more insights and real-life stories from Irish people with foreign language skills, check out our Youtube channel.
