The DUP leader has said she was uplifted after meeting staff and Irish language students at a Catholic girls grammar school in Co Down.
During her visit to Our Lady's Grammar in Newry, Ms Foster met 30 Irish language students and said it had been an opportunity to sit back and listen about Irish language and music.
She said it was part of a journey she was on and people had nothing to fear from engaging with another culture.
Ms Foster said the visit was part of her efforts to reach out to Irish speakers in Northern Ireland.
A Sinn Féin demand for an Irish language act was one of the main stumbling blocks in the talks aimed at re-establishing a power sharing government at Stormont.
During the recent Assembly election campaign, Ms Foster said her party would not support legislation demanded by Sinn Féin to establish an Irish language act.
Since then she has said she wants to engage with the Irish language in a non-political way.
