Dia dhuit daltai na Gaielige, conás tán [all of you]? Tá mé go maith agas ta mé [confused about how to use the teach yourself Irish course.]

I picked up the Munster version at the local library, and looked up the audio files on the Yahoo! group, but am at a loss as to the pedagogy. So far, I've heard a couple of speakers recite word lists. Not sure how that's going to help. Perhaps I'm just using the wrong tool? From anyone that has used the book before, mind sharing how you use it?
Go raibh maigh agat

Dia dhuit, a Finbarr. Conas tánn tú? ("sibh" for plural when saying how are you to more than one.) Tá mé go maith freisin, buíochas le Dia.

I have been very diligently working my way through the TYI Grammar book at the moment from the beginning to the end. I do flip to other sections during this process. I review the material and then do the exercises at the end. If I do not do well, I go back, review, and retest. I am also writing out all the sentences and then doing it again digitally to work the patterns into my brain and to have a digital file for myself to review. Mac_léinn could tell you how his Yahoo! groups are using the material.

I have done something similar with the TYI Irish book and took courses that used it as the text. I would like to go back and do the whole book again after I finish TYI Grammar. No matter what tool I use, I follow a similar approach. I have found that there are times when something does not click with a particular tool and I leave it aside for until it does.

Go raibh maith agat.

Slán go fóill,

Maidhc

Uachtar na maidine a Finbarr agus An Sé (Mr. Ó Sé ).

The Yahoo group that I started has to do with the latest version of the book Teach Yourself Irish which is based on the Official Irish Standard. A Finbarr, it looks like you're already familiar with the Yahoo Group that uses the Munster-based, earlier versions of Teach Yourself Irish. I wish I could help with your question Finbarr, but the folks at the TYI Munster group are well equipped to answer your questions and it looks like they're starting a new cycle so you may want to post some questions there. And in Maidhc's posting above, I think there some excellent advice on how to "ingrain in your brain."(hey, that rhymes!) Go n-éirí an t-adh leat!

A Mhaidc, FYI, the Munster-based Yahoo Group is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TYIMunster. I'm sure that you're already familiar with the fact that the book Teach Yourself Irish Grammar is based on the Official Irish Standard and I've been looking for ways to incorporate its material into the Official-Standard version of Teach Yourself Irish.

Le meas,

An Fiche hAon (Mr. 21)

Ha! Imagine that! Just last night I was working through the Transparent Language Before You Know It Lite, Irish course, and learned buíochas! How nice. So "thanks" for sticking it in there, you must be clairvoyant. :)

Thanks for the advice, both of you. I'll probably post something on the Yahoo! group to get suggestions.
Maybe I'll take the word lists and make flashcards? I'll figure something out.

Buíochas!

Finbarr,

Believe me when I say that Teach Yourself Irish has more to offer than you might think. I have one complaint that keeps me from liking it more than Learning Irish.

I do not care for the format that the book uses to introduce material. I am not a big fan of the phrase/conversational approach to learning Irish, I prefer the Learning Irish method where they give you a long list of words, and then teach you how to use them.

However, if you do a little extra work with Teach Yourself Irish, it is worth more than its weight in gold. The amount of vocabulary one can obtain with this course is rather large for a beginner/introductory course. Also it includes grammar, but manages to keeps the grammar on the simplified side so that the average person can understand the material. It is more contemporary and lively than Learning Irish, and the Irish isn't dialect driven like Learning Irish. The only real flaw is that there needs to be more exercises and audio to go along with the course.

But all and all, I would recommend this course to a new learner before any other right now.

Do scríobh Do Chinniúint:
I do not care for the format that the book uses to introduce material. I am not a big fan of the phrase/conversational approach to learning Irish, I prefer the Learning Irish method where they give you a long list of words, and then teach you how to use them.

This tells me you think Finbarr was referring to Ó Sé's TYI. Reread the first post of this thread -- I think he's referring to Dillon's TYI.

I think Maidhc may have made the same mistake.

A Chionaodh,

I was referring to the course by Ó Sé...I didn't know there were two courses out there with the same name? I didn't know you could do that, doesn't that violate some type of copywrite law?

I was referring to the course by Ó Sé...I didn't know there were two courses out there with the same name? I didn't know you could do that, doesn't that violate some type of copywrite law?

Not if you're the copyright holder. ;-)

In the early 90s the TY folks revamped their whole range and decided to redo the Irish one as well, this time featuring a stew of dialects instead of just one.

Is stobhach canúintí é An Caighdeán Oifigiúil...... agus is breá liomsa stobhach Éireannach!

Right. I was referring to Dillon's TYI.


I have put it aside for now and moved on to, at least temporarily, until I can log on to Gaeltalk, Transparent Language's Before You Know It Lite. The free version. (I'm not a pitchman for them.) Since I can't seem to find time for gaeltalk just yet, and Pimsleur has decided not to expand their Irish CDs any more than 10 lessons, at least currently, unfortunately I'll have to start recognizing Irish as written. For shame. :) And I just wanted to be able to speak and understand it being spoken, now I'm going to become literate. Or, at least, I'll be entering the land of reading _some_ words and phrases. Darn. Oh well. :)

Don't give up on conversation totally just yet, Finbarr. Reading, writing, and talking are all part of the process in learning a language. At the Daltaí weekend I met people with varying skills in these areas. There were those who were fluent in reading Irish, but found spelling and talking in Irish very challenging. They longed for more conversing opportunities. Other people could hold a basic conversation in Irish but they had a limited Irish vocabulary. The people who could read, write and talk in Irish well had studied very much. They had used a variety of techniques and tools to get themselves to their level of fluency. They sought out opportunities to use the language wherever they could in whatever way they could.

To me, it does not really matter whether I am talking about Dillon or Ó Sé or whomever or whatever, the material will be a review of what I had looked at previously. There are lots of times when I put aside material to look at something else. For example, I must have at least ten to fifteen Irish grammar books and many more instructional manuals. Throw in audiotapes, DVDs, TG4, the Web, scores of books, and you get the idea that there is no lack of learning tools for me to look at. However, I do keep returning to Progress in Irish, Buntús Cainte, Irish for Everyone, and anything by The Christian Brothers, as well as my dictionary. PII has tagged along with me for so long that I now need to buy a new one.

Good luck with your approach. As long as you do something, it will take you to your next level of development. And one day we will have that conversation.

Le meas,

Maidhc

(Message edited by mícheál on February 28, 2007)