My 14 year-old daughter and I are from Texas (USA). We are doing our best at attempting to learn how to speak Irish.

However, we are having a difficult time finding a program that is suitable for beginners and unfortunately we can't afford Rosetta Stone.

If anyone has any suggestions...please let me know. Any help will be appreciated.

We are looking for an Irish/English English/Irish dictionary that will be helpful to us as well. There is one for sale in the Daltai shop. Is anyone familiar with that one and if so, is it good for beginners?

Thank you.
Stephanie

Hmm...

A good beginner's dictionary I think is:

Irish-English English-Irish Easy Reference Dictionary by Roberts Rinehart Publishers.

http://www.anobii.com/books/Irish-EnglishEnglish-Irish_Easy_Reference_Dictionary ,_New_Edition/9781568332048/01391f9952babefac8/

What I like about this dictionary is that it is a reference dictionary. A beginner will not get lost in all the endless entries. There are usually only 1 or 2 definitions per entry so it is pretty safe for new people.

If you are computer savy, then I recommend the following online dictionaries.

Focal.ie

http://focal.ie/Home.aspx

Online English to Irish Dictionary

http://www.irishdictionary.ie/home

Irish Identity

http://www.irishidentity.com/dictionary.htm

Of the three I would use Focal.ie first. Don't let all the Irish scare you at first. Type the English word you are looking for in the search and go. You will see English and Irish.

The Online English to Irish Dictionary is actually an online form of the Collins Gem Dictionary. However, not all entries from the book dictionary are on the online version.

Irish Identity is a reference guide also. Which means you are going to get a near one to one definition, which is good if you are looking for a word. But not if you don't know what to do with the word.

Thank you so much for the suggestions. I certainly will check them out.

Oops, sorry. I forgot to address the programs.

Well, there is now the Living Language Irish program. I have not seen the course so I cannot say how good it is just yet.

However if it follows the same template as the other Living Language programs, it might be the grammar filler that the other language programs do not meet.

I have some personal issues with the following course, but many people do recommend the Teach Yourself Irish program. It is a book with two audio CDs.

The course itself is not really bad. It is inexpensive, and it has a lot of basic Irish that is great for new people. My problem is that concentrates on phrases and spoken Irish, so it doesn't really address grammar and structure needed to form other sentences and ideas.

If the Living Language pans out, I will probably start recommending the two together. TYI will give you the conversational Irish while Living Language gives a grammar foundation to start developing your Irish further.

Teach Yourself Irish is like 30 US dollars.
Living Language is like 40 US dollars.

70-100 US dollars is a lot cheaper than Rosetta Stone.

And even the Rosetta Stone has its flaws. I have it. While it is the first major computer program out there for Irish here in the US, you can only go so far with it. Its power lies in its ability to associate vocabulary with imagery. You can do that on your own, it just makes it a little easier for you.

Actually I have been using the TIY program for a couple of weeks now. I have gotten a little bit of information out of it.

However, I have mostly been getting frustrated because it does focus more on Irish phrases and conversation as opposed to grammar. Sure, I can look up words in the dictionaries but I have no clue as to how to properly structure them into sentences to where the words make any sense.

I would highly recommend:

Tús Maith - Cuid a-hAon - by Risteard Macgabhan. It is a self-instructional course that a group of home schoolers are using here in the Brazos Valley. We are in Navasota, Texas 25 miles south of College Station. (I have one extra copy of the course if you would like to buy it. I just bought them for our group and we have one extra)

Focloir Scolaire - This is the ONLY English-Irish/Irish-English dictionary I have found with pronunciation guides that you can understand. We are a group of 7 and everyone has their own. You can buy it from Kathleen at Litriocht. It is 8 euros and you CAN"T BEAT the shipping rates from Litriocht. I received 7 copies this afternoon by FEDEX.

If you care to discuss all this, call me at 936-825-1227 (cell) home is 936-825-0351

Slán agus ádh mór ort, (goodbye and good luck to you)
Faberm

I am looking at "Is Maith Liom" on You Tube right now. I got the link from your profile and it seems like it may be helpful.

It is a very good resource. Those are courses given at I believe the House of Ireland in San Diego. Tús Maith allows you to actually hear native speakers using those phrases etc... Not sure, but I don't think any of the instructors on the Is Maith Liom youtube are native speakers.

Faberm, some of the speakers on Tús Maith are native speakers - listen out for Fergal McGuigan on the CDs. The other 2 of the four speakers are learners from Northern Ireland. Listening to the CDs it is pretty obvious which are the native speakers. Also the native speakers often diverge from the text and use dialectal forms, which is good for your Ulster Irish.

Thanks for the clarification.