Leaving Cert Irish - Getting the A1

RebelLAD1

I'd be a pretty good Irish student , it comes pretty naturally to me but since it does I kind of sit back and slack at the subject. Id constantly get A2's , B1's . But this year I want to try and achieve that A1 grade. This morning I took out the Irish book and was kind of clueless as where to start. Anyone have any tips on what to go over? Or any useful websites for tips and notes? Thanks

My Irish teacher used to use "isfeidirleat.ie" for notes for the oral/ sraith pictuir.
Have you worked on your essays/ comprehension/ tape? These are vital if you want a high grade. For example, you can spend weeks learning stories and poems but only one of each will come up.
Tape is 60 marks
Comprehensions are 100
Essay is 100

RebelLAD1

Yeah id usually be fairly good at the comprehensions and im pretty fluent aswell so the oral and aural elements come naturally enough aswell. I may try learn some sample answers for the essays and poetry too

It could just be the case that you are getting A1s but your teacher wants you to keep working towards something so won't officially give you it

Poufsouffle

Hey, I got an A1 this year so I'll give a bit of advice:

Oral- This is worth a huge amount of marks so it's really worth putting the effort in. Learn off your sraith pictiúirí as you go and you'll save yourself a lot of hassle by the time the mocks/LC come around. About 3/4 sentences for each picture should be grand, your teacher might do this for you and hand it out or else you could write your own sentences and get them corrected. Know a few basic questions that you can use for any of the SPs, e.g. "Cad atá an buachaill ag caitheamh sa chéad phictiúr" etc.

Read the poems aloud and listen to the CD to get the exact pronunciation, very easy to get full marks here with minimal effort.

Cover all the general topics for the comhrá - mé féin, mo chlann, scoil, laethanta saoire, caitheamh aimsire etc. you'll have barely any time for the general conversation so spending too much time on abstract topics is a waste of time, maybe know a bit of vocab about social problems like alcohol or unemployment just to be sure, you can re-use things from essays here.

Aural- I've never found tape difficult to be honest so I didn't spend much time practicing for it. I'd say do every listening in your exam papers and if you do them in class look over the corrections at home and re-listen to it later, not sure if the transcripts are online but if so they'd be worth reading while you listen. Know the general vocab that comes up every year , e.g. about sending emails or applications to someone etc, ask your teacher. Watch TG4 if you want, cartoons are probably the only thing on that are vaguely watchable.

Written-
Comprehensions- First figure out what the question means, you don't need to understand every single word. Then go back to the text and find the sentence with the same vocab. You can copy over the full sentence and as long as it contains the answer you'll get full marks. Sometimes the answer might be in the sentence before or after the main sentence (with the same vocab as the question), especially if "Cén fáth" is in the question so be careful. Keep doing grammar exercises to prepare for the grammar questions.

Prós- Know the story well and you'll be able to answer most questions on the day. Look over any notes your teacher gives you and you shouldn't need to learn things off. Be aware of the different types of questions they might ask that aren't directly linked to the story itself, e.g. The Troubles in N.I. for "An Gnáthrud" but you should use examples from the story itself to highlight your points e.g. violence -shooting the guy outside the Chinese restaurant.

Filíocht - learn off a few sentences on each poet, even the for the past two years' poems, very likely to come up. Know the general themes for each poem and again the unusual q's e.g. for Spailpín Fánach, what life was like in Ireland at the time.

Dráma- I did "An Triail" and this was probably my favourite part of the course. Be able to describe the story from start to finish over about 3 A4 pages. Stick in a good few quotes, refer to the question 2-3 times for every point. Know your characters well.

Aiste- I learned off 4 essays and 3 of them came up thankfully so I had a choice. If your teacher tells you to learn something, do it. If they don't learn, some essays from your book/notes online. Cover all the general topics and a few topical things and you'll be fine. I wrote 3 A4 pages on the day.

Hope this helps, best of luck.

HPMS

Hey! I got an A1 in Irish this year and it was always my favourite subject, so I will try and give you some advice on how to do it!

ORAL
Start preparing NOW! Even if you are near fluent, that could be your biggest downfall. I amn't trying to sound rude or disheartening, but a lot of the time fluent or near fluent speakers pick up bad habits that can prove to be incriminating in the oral. A lot of my friends who went to all-Irish schools didn't get the A1, some only managed a B although I assumed they would be dead set for an A1. Turns out, because they spent so long speaking Irish they picked up bad habits that they didn't notice that cost them in the oral.

Sraith Pictiurí
Start with the Sraith Pictiur. I used Gléasnotaí Gaeilge which had great phrases for the pictures, but ultimately I didn't learn everything off. I just learned a few phrases for each picture and then, necessary vocab. The rest I made up on the day because seriously, you will forget it if you learn everything off word for word! About 5/6 sentences per picture is required to get an A1 and even though you need to be within 3 mins, do not rush...speak calmly - you will just stumble and make silly mistake if you rush!

Poetry
Don't neglect the poetry reading - easy 35 marks. Practise reading them with appropriate pausing and emotion. Don't be afraid to read it like you're telling the story, or that you feel emotion for the subject of the poem! I know Géibheann off by heart, and I just loved saying it. I always made it sound like I cared for the lion's situation and I believe the tone and emotion in your voice seriously affects the mark!

Comhrá
Then, the conversation. Start preparing for this NOW! Get a copy, and write out answers for possible questions. Read over your answers every now and again as this will help retain the info.

Use stuff like "that" - (go and gur/nach and nár). For instance - Tá súil agam GO n-eireoidh go maith liom sna scrúdaithe. You see, here it shows you can use the Go + uru easily, it comes up all the time and I used stuff like that loads in the oral. An excellent place to use it is in the sraith pictuiri too. "Dúirt Mam go gcaithfidh Áine a seomra a ghlanadh" - it may seem easy but it seriously impresses the examiner!

Another thing is the Módh Coinníoloch - know how to use it and use every opportunity to throw it in. I remember in my oral he asked me to describe my school, and to make myself stand out among the other students I put in at the end before he could even test me, "...Bheul, is scoil mhaith í ach i ndairíre, dá mbeinn i mo phriomhoide, dhéanfainn cúpla rud chun feabhas a chur uirthi." - I used the Módh Coinniollach without him even asking which showed I could use it fine. I always found it a good idea to do things like that!

If you want, throw in a seanfhocal but don't overuse them! I used one in my oral and it was a nice one and flowed with the conversation. He asked me about my college course and I said "Ba mhaith liom dul go dtí Colaiste na Tríonóide ach is maith an scéalaí an aimsir" - Time will tell. So nice, subtle ones like that look and sound good.

An Cluasthuiscint
For the Aural, I never had a problem after going to the Gaeltacht over the years so it came easy to me but I did watch TG4 and listen to RnaG so that's always a good idea! Even if it's just on while doing your homework! Do past papers and you'll find the same words come up over and over again - one that springs to mind is urraíocht (sponsorship) which must come up every second year! Other things to learn are Counties (and the correct spellings), weather and numbers.

Aiste

Over the two years, I did a good few essays. Even up until the week of the exam I handed in a couple of essays to my teacher. Practise, practise, practise is the key! It is really the only way. Sure, you could learn off essay after essay but what happens then if nothing you've learned comes up on the day and you end up panicking because you don't know how to write an essay? So although I did loads of essays, I did not learn off by heart - I learned appropriate vocab and that was it. I planned before I began. Every essay of mine had this plan:

Intro - Cúiseanna - Tionchair - Achomihre/Conclusion

My teacher gave me an Intro which I used for almost all my essays so I can PM that to you if you want?

My essays always had about 8 paragraphs, and covered the reasons/Influences for the problem! I covered everything from the Gathering to road safety, and the environment to emigration, and I was safe on the day and ended up getting 96/100 I always tried to put in a seanfhocal too. In the actual exam I used 3. If you're talking about the Celtic Tiger you can say "Ní bhionn in aon rud ach seal" - Nothing lasts forever. If you're talking about solving a problem - "I ndiaidh a chéile a thogtar na caisleáin" - Rome wasn't built in a day. ETC.

PRÓS AGUS FILÍOCHT

Know your stories well - I knew a detailed summary for everything. I knew traits for characters. For stories like An Gnathrud I knew stuff on the Troubles, and for Oisín, I knew the traits of a Béaloidis so anything obviously linked to the stories - LEARN! Another one is Dís and I have a feeling it will come up next year for some reason...but watch out for something on married couples and marital problems.

For the poetry, I knew the obvious stuff like poets/images/techniques. I answered every question with reference to a technique or my personal response! I ALWAYS quoted to support my point (which is easy since the poem is on the page but make sure you do it!!)...And that was really it I think. I did the extra poetry option so didn't do a drama.

Léamhthuiscint

Do plenty of past papers to improve your vocab and get Foinse every week! This is also important for essays because a lot of the time, essay topics are taken from here. There is also an exam section in Foinse every week which covers EVERYTHING on the exam - well worth following! There are also some excellent comprehensions in Foinse from time to time which are good practise so you should definitely do them!


I hope I helped! Sorry for the very long post but I got a bit carried away. Any questions or need for help - PM me!

Limi66

Great advice. Cheers.

doogybag

HPMS wrote: »

Hey! I got an A1 in Irish this year and it was always my favourite subject, so I will try and give you some advice on how to do it!

ORAL
Start preparing NOW! Even if you are near fluent, that could be your biggest downfall. I amn't trying to sound rude or disheartening, but a lot of the time fluent or near fluent speakers pick up bad habits that can prove to be incriminating in the oral. A lot of my friends who went to all-Irish schools didn't get the A1, some only managed a B although I assumed they would be dead set for an A1. Turns out, because they spent so long speaking Irish they picked up bad habits that they didn't notice that cost them in the oral.

Sraith Pictiurí
Start with the Sraith Pictiur. I used Gléasnotaí Gaeilge which had great phrases for the pictures, but ultimately I didn't learn everything off. I just learned a few phrases for each picture and then, necessary vocab. The rest I made up on the day because seriously, you will forget it if you learn everything off word for word! About 5/6 sentences per picture is required to get an A1 and even though you need to be within 3 mins, do not rush...speak calmly - you will just stumble and make silly mistake if you rush!

Poetry
Don't neglect the poetry reading - easy 35 marks. Practise reading them with appropriate pausing and emotion. Don't be afraid to read it like you're telling the story, or that you feel emotion for the subject of the poem! I know Géibheann off by heart, and I just loved saying it. I always made it sound like I cared for the lion's situation and I believe the tone and emotion in your voice seriously affects the mark!

Comhrá
Then, the conversation. Start preparing for this NOW! Get a copy, and write out answers for possible questions. Read over your answers every now and again as this will help retain the info.

Use stuff like "that" - (go and gur/nach and nár). For instance - Tá súil agam GO n-eireoidh go maith liom sna scrúdaithe. You see, here it shows you can use the Go + uru easily, it comes up all the time and I used stuff like that loads in the oral. An excellent place to use it is in the sraith pictuiri too. "Dúirt Mam go gcaithfidh Áine a seomra a ghlanadh" - it may seem easy but it seriously impresses the examiner!

Another thing is the Módh Coinníoloch - know how to use it and use every opportunity to throw it in. I remember in my oral he asked me to describe my school, and to make myself stand out among the other students I put in at the end before he could even test me, "...Bheul, is scoil mhaith í ach i ndairíre, dá mbeinn i mo phriomhoide, dhéanfainn cúpla rud chun feabhas a chur uirthi." - I used the Módh Coinniollach without him even asking which showed I could use it fine. I always found it a good idea to do things like that!

If you want, throw in a seanfhocal but don't overuse them! I used one in my oral and it was a nice one and flowed with the conversation. He asked me about my college course and I said "Ba mhaith liom dul go dtí Colaiste na Tríonóide ach is maith an scéalaí an aimsir" - Time will tell. So nice, subtle ones like that look and sound good.

An Cluasthuiscint
For the Aural, I never had a problem after going to the Gaeltacht over the years so it came easy to me but I did watch TG4 and listen to RnaG so that's always a good idea! Even if it's just on while doing your homework! Do past papers and you'll find the same words come up over and over again - one that springs to mind is urraíocht (sponsorship) which must come up every second year! Other things to learn are Counties (and the correct spellings), weather and numbers.

Aiste

Over the two years, I did a good few essays. Even up until the week of the exam I handed in a couple of essays to my teacher. Practise, practise, practise is the key! It is really the only way. Sure, you could learn off essay after essay but what happens then if nothing you've learned comes up on the day and you end up panicking because you don't know how to write an essay? So although I did loads of essays, I did not learn off by heart - I learned appropriate vocab and that was it. I planned before I began. Every essay of mine had this plan:

Intro - Cúiseanna - Tionchair - Achomihre/Conclusion

My teacher gave me an Intro which I used for almost all my essays so I can PM that to you if you want?

My essays always had about 8 paragraphs, and covered the reasons/Influences for the problem! I covered everything from the Gathering to road safety, and the environment to emigration, and I was safe on the day and ended up getting 96/100 I always tried to put in a seanfhocal too. In the actual exam I used 3. If you're talking about the Celtic Tiger you can say "Ní bhionn in aon rud ach seal" - Nothing lasts forever. If you're talking about solving a problem - "I ndiaidh a chéile a thogtar na caisleáin" - Rome wasn't built in a day. ETC.

PRÓS AGUS FILÍOCHT

Know your stories well - I knew a detailed summary for everything. I knew traits for characters. For stories like An Gnathrud I knew stuff on the Troubles, and for Oisín, I knew the traits of a Béaloidis so anything obviously linked to the stories - LEARN! Another one is Dís and I have a feeling it will come up next year for some reason...but watch out for something on married couples and marital problems.

For the poetry, I knew the obvious stuff like poets/images/techniques. I answered every question with reference to a technique or my personal response! I ALWAYS quoted to support my point (which is easy since the poem is on the page but make sure you do it!!)...And that was really it I think. I did the extra poetry option so didn't do a drama.

Léamhthuiscint

Do plenty of past papers to improve your vocab and get Foinse every week! This is also important for essays because a lot of the time, essay topics are taken from here. There is also an exam section in Foinse every week which covers EVERYTHING on the exam - well worth following! There are also some excellent comprehensions in Foinse from time to time which are good practise so you should definitely do them!


I hope I helped! Sorry for the very long post but I got a bit carried away. Any questions or need for help - PM me!

hi, my name is michelle, im repeating the leaving cert this year and I got a B1 in irish last year, I really like irish so that's why I put a lot of study in !
im just wondering would you have anything to help me to learn the grammar for the comprehensions, that you used?

many thanks,
michelle

itsduffy

well done on your a1s, good tips