Hi Everyone,

I am a brand spanking new student of Irish. For some reason, I went to one class and just kept going and I really enjoy it. I am finding that I am remembering words and I am making much more progress than I ever did in French!

However, with respect to the teacher who does as best he can, the class does not seem to have any structure to it. It runs from one tangent to another and I'm having difficulty maintaining a direction. Does this make sense? Also, this man has never been to Ireland having learnt Irish here and I have a feeling the comments he makes about Ireland and the Irish are very generalistic and inaccurate. I am from an Irish family and having spent a childhood steeped in such culture, his comments seem very foreign to me. Is there something I can do to combat this or do I just shut up because I am the student?

I would appreciate any feedback whatsoever; I don't care how long or short it is. I really enjoy this site and I love reading all the feedback and goings on. This is my first post.

Is mise le meas.

S.

Fáilte, a Shorcha,

It is nice to see your enthusiaism! Go n'éirí an t-ádh leat with your studies!

I was in a similar situation when I started. I am a "structured learner", I need my lessons to be logical and to build on one another. It helped me to devise my own study plan, that made sense to me, using the books and materials I had available. My good friend Rath suggested just taking one area of study, such as irregular verbs, and concentrating on that area only, for about two weeks.

I would also go to class, that helped to reinforce what I was learning, and helped with listening and verbal skills. It was a good place to ask questions.

Finally, and most important, if if you are able, please join us at one of the immersion weekends. They are wonderful. It is a great opportunity to practice, learn, make new friends with similar interests, and have a really good time doing it all! Bring a friend! You can get info on them in the calendar section of Daltai's web page.

Arís, go n'éirí an t-ádh leat!

le meas,

Máire Eilís

You can't depend as much on your teacher as you should be able to. Don't just stay quiet because you're the student. For one thing, you're there to learn Irish, which he knows and you do not (yet). You don't need him to teach you about the Irish people: He hasn't even been there and you know more than he does.

You might talk to your teacher outside of class. You can also disagree in class with comments he makes without making a major point of it (asuming he has a reasonable personality). You could also try in class to steer things back on course by asking questions about the language. And discuss things with the other people in the class.

No teacher is going to teach you the whole language. I think successful learners mostly teach themselves and just use teachers and classes for structure and to keep on an even keel. You should try Irish-language weekends, summer courses in Ireland (people attend from as far away as Japan) and making contact with students and speakers of the language. Practice with supplementary learning materials and try to write and think in Irish. Beir bua. Keep in there.

Beginners in learning Irish may find the Irish Lessons on The Irish People newspaper website helpful.
New lessons are posted weekly.
http://www.inac.org/IrishPeople
In solidarity,
Larry Quinn

a Shorca, a chara: Glad to see your enthusiasm. One further suggestion; maybe those in your class could practice conversation on your own, even if it has to start with exchanging courtesy phrases. ...Slan go foill-