child very good at Irish

coralcathy

Hi Folks,

My 8 year old is really good at Irish.

He is eatting his dinner, and chatting away, and I have no idea to be honest what he is saying, but asking him to translate.

I am Irish his Dad is not.

At the parent/teacher meeting, it was brought up how he was very good at Irish and the teacher was so very excited about it.

I hate to say it but if it was French or German or Spanish I would be over the moon.

Of course as any other Mammy I am delighted and encourage it, but how can we make the most of it.

I know he will get extra points if he does his Leaving Cert in Irish but I hope to move abroad soon so dont think we will be here when he is 18 years old.

It is no load to carry and is his 3rd language, so what I am asking is what use will it be too him later on.

cch

Sounds like he is naturally good at languages, probably from learning two already. I wouldn't mind this too much, it will make it easier to pick up another language in the future, one or more of which he will do for his school leaving exams.
Also if you're moving to the UK you can do A-Levels in Irish!

littlebug

He's 8... let him enjoy learning and speaking Irish without thinking about leaving cert or what use it will be to his future career. Having already got a second language he obviously has an aptitude for learning different languages which is a wonderful skill to have at all stages of life. For now maybe buy him a few books in Irish that he might like that aren't school books (ie books for fun) watch some kids programmes on tg4 and above all encourage him to enjoy it.

wolfpawnat

He clearly has a flare for languages, and if you are moving abroad there is nothing nicer than him being able to maintain some of his Irish heritage in the process. To say he loves speaking it and picks it up easily try adding another language using the same methods (ie books, etc) Always encourage your child and besides, you said you hope to move, you may not so it may be more use to him

deisemum

My son's irish teacher in 2nd year tells the class to watch TG4 and when myl lads were in the younger classes in primary I was told at parent/teacher meetings to let them watch TG4 because they'll pick up the sounds.

A lot of the cartoons/Cula 4 are in irish.

Sleepy

It's a sign of a natural apptitude towards languages but it's only showing up in Irish as it's the only language he's being taught in school.

Unfortunately, there's nothing to make the most out of. Irish is of practically no use to him in life in Ireland, never mind abroad.

I'd be inclined to see if the school offer extra-curricular programs in other languages or if there are lessons available locally in other languages for him to turn his talents to which might be of use to him in the future.

BlackForestJule

To my mind ANY additional language is of use, even if it can't be turned into money (both literally and in the figurative sense). Every language gives a unique insight into a country's culture and history and gives you an additional richness of expression. Knowing Irish helps you understand how "green English" works, for example, and I imagine (being a foreigner myself) it gives you an additional feeling of identity. Just look to Spain - Catalan and Basque are a major part of people's sense of identity. I find having roots like that very precious, especially when English is your mother tongue, which is so globalised. And this might become even more important to your son if you move away. It's a bit of a weak comparison, but in addition to my mother tongue I have my dialect and it does connect me to my birthplace in a very special way which is different to the rather functional standard language. Also, naturally understanding that languages are different, that there are no 1:1 equivalents does help with learning other languages while so many other students - especially older ones - will doggedly stick to "but this is how it works in my language, it MUST work this way in XXX as well". I think that loving foreign languages is a bit like loving books. You love books in general, not just the one. If you encourage a child to read, even if it's the same book over and over again, (s)he'll turn to other books in time and enjoy them as well. If you give out to them for reading the same store for the thousandth time, they might stop reading altogether.

I realise that a lot of what I write is ideological rather than practical and if it doesn't convince you, just enjoy the fact that he loves it the way you would enjoy him loving any other hobby and being happy practising it. Other languages will come in time and with necessity and then he'll have a natural headstart.

Very passionate greetings
BFJ

CrazyRabbit

Learning another language boost self-confidence considerably. It also helps give generally superior communication skills as you develop a better understanding of the mechanics of language. As an example, I gained an improved knowledge of English grammar by learning Dutch grammar and noticing the differences/similarities.

And whilst Gaelic is quite a distinctly different language to other European languages, learning it will certainly help when it comes to learning them. Basically, the more languages you know, the easier it becomes to learn even more.

Oh, and learning a language is fun as it's quite rewarding.

Fuinseog

coralcathy wrote: »

Hi Folks,

My 8 year old is really good at Irish.

He is eatting his dinner, and chatting away, and I have no idea to be honest what he is saying, but asking him to translate.

I am Irish his Dad is not.

At the parent/teacher meeting, it was brought up how he was very good at Irish and the teacher was so very excited about it.

I hate to say it but if it was French or German or Spanish I would be over the moon.

Of course as any other Mammy I am delighted and encourage it, but how can we make the most of it.

I know he will get extra points if he does his Leaving Cert in Irish but I hope to move abroad soon so dont think we will be here when he is 18 years old.

It is no load to carry and is his 3rd language, so what I am asking is what use will it be too him later on.

do you have a crystal ball which will tell you where he will be when he is 18? maybe he will return to ireland and these days if you are fluent in irish it is more positive than negative.

Fuinseog

deisemum wrote: »

My son's irish teacher in 2nd year tells the class to watch TG4 and when myl lads were in the younger classes in primary I was told at parent/teacher meetings to let them watch TG4 because they'll pick up the sounds.

A lot of the cartoons/Cula 4 are in irish.

that is very sound advice