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The Daltaí Boards » Archive: 2005- » 2006 (September-October) » Archive through September 24, 2006 » Cyclical interest in Irish? « Previous Next »

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Cionaodh
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Username: Cionaodh

Post Number: 369
Registered: 05-2005


Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 10:14 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

I just did the first of my autumn '06 classes last night; enrollment for the bunrang was 13, versus 25 the year before.

I'm curious -- for those of you running Irish classes outside of Ireland, have you noticed that interest in the classes seems to have a "cycle" to it?

I've had low bunrang enrollments now in 1991 (8), 1999 (11), and now this year. My highest bunrang enrollments have been in 1996 (38) and 2003 (54). This is beginning to look like a pattern.

Anyone else have similar experiences?

In contrast, my meánrang and ardrang enrollments stay fairly consistent through the years.

Thoughts?

http://www.gaeilge.org

FRC - Fáilte Roimh Cheartúcháin

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Fe_arn
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Username: Fe_arn

Post Number: 52
Registered: 08-2006
Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 11:14 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

Thuas seal; thíos seal, a mhic ;)

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Tomás (Unregistered Guest)
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Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 11:23 pm:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

I'm not teaching right now, but your experience mirrors mine over 14 years of teaching off and on. The bunrang numbers are cyclical and -- I believe -- predictable. I'm in the Albany, NY area, a medium-sized metropolitan area with a large proportion of second, third and fourth generation Irish-American in the local population, but few immigrants in the last 20 years. Really, the last big wave was 50 years ago. A critical mass of curiosity and interest seems to build. People give it a try and a third or so will stick with it after the first year.

Dála an scéil, a Chionaoidh, cá bhfuil tú i do mhúinteoir?

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Bearnaigh (Unregistered Guest)
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Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 05:09 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

What factors could be driving this, do you think?

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Cionaodh
Member
Username: Cionaodh

Post Number: 371
Registered: 05-2005


Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 08:03 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

Scríobh Tomás:

Dála an scéil, a Chionaoidh, cá bhfuil tú i do mhúinteoir?

Massachusetts anois ó 2004 (mhúin mé anseo 1989-96 chomh maith); mhúin mé i New Hampshire 1994-2005, agus i gConnecticut 1993-94.

I'm in the Albany, NY area, a medium-sized metropolitan area with a large proportion of second, third and fourth generation Irish-American in the local population, but few immigrants in the last 20 years.

We had a huge wave of immigrants in the 1980s in central Massachusetts, but unlike the previous generation, most of these didn't stay, but instead went home when the economy in Ireland starting improving.

As you might imagine, most of these youngsters wouldn't be caught dead in an Irish class -- too many painful memories. But they couldn't help but notice our Irish classes -- my earliest ones were in the basement of a Hibernian club, so my prospective Gaeilgeoirí had to troop past these twenty-something Irish kids whose backsides were glued to the barstools. I sometimes like to flatter myself that they took note of our enthusiasm and perhaps bore it in mind when they went home, as the 1990s saw a flourishing of Gaelscoileanna which were populated by the generation who were born to the returning emigrants.

Or maybe it was just a coincidence.

Anyway, Tomás, thanks for the corroboration.

http://www.gaeilge.org

FRC - Fáilte Roimh Cheartúcháin

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Taidhgín
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Username: Taidhgín

Post Number: 49
Registered: 07-2006
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 09:44 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

Maith thú, a Chionaodh, is nár laga Dia thú ach go méadaí sé ar do mhisneach is do dhíograis

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Aonghus
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Username: Aonghus

Post Number: 3707
Registered: 08-2004


Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 04:18 pm:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

Is minic suim ag na daoine a fhill go hÉireann i nGaeilge. Cuireann imirce ceisteanna féiniúlachta ar do shúile dhuit.

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Seosamh Mac Muirí (Unregistered Guest)
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Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 - 11:20 am:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

>> .. I sometimes like to flatter myself that they took note of our enthusiasm and perhaps bore it in mind when they went home, as the 1990s saw ...


Déarfainn gur thugadar faoi deara a raibh ar siúl san áit. Ní beag an tionchar a d'imreodh a leithéid sin orthu.

Molann an obair go mór sibh.

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Riona
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Username: Riona

Post Number: 525
Registered: 01-2006
Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 01:32 pm:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

Interesting. I wish I could take your class, I'd be braver to take one if I knew the instructor. Beir bua agus beannacht

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Cionaodh
Member
Username: Cionaodh

Post Number: 377
Registered: 05-2005


Posted on Tuesday, September 19, 2006 - 03:09 pm:   Small TextLarge TextEdit Post Print Post

You're welcome to join my "online" class, a Riona -- over 120 of us around the world are using Progress in Irish in conjunction with audio files:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/progressinirish

We're at lesson 22 this week; there's also a subset of the group's members who started late and who are doing 2 lessons per week to catch up -- those folks are at lesson 12 just now.

PII's weakness is in the area of spoken Irish/conversation. There are two other groups which help address that shortcoming:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/buntuscainte
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/comhra

Beidh fáilte romhat/romhaibh!

http://www.gaeilge.org

FRC - Fáilte Roimh Cheartúcháin



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