Is going to the Gaeltacht essential in order to get an A in LC HL Irish?

Mr Rhode Island Red

Though this will probably start a turf war, I thought it could spark an interesting discussion while answering my question.

I know many people who go to the Gaeltacht to help with their Irish, and they do admit that it definitely improves the speaking side of the language, but not so much the grammar and spelling side of the language.

So what does everybody think? Is going to the Gaeltacht essential if one wants to be a high achiever in Irish for their LC?

Acciaccatura

Anybody I knew who got an A in HL Irish, myself included, all either went to a Gaeltacht (most of them for at least 2 years), went to an Irish-speaking primary and/or secondary school, or they spoke Irish at home, or a combination of all these. That said, I know one outlier who speaks Irish at home, went to an Irish primary and secondary school, and went to a Gaeltacht in the summers of first, second and third year, and achieved a B2, though he admitted he did hardly any work for it, particularly the prose and poetry :rolleyes: I'm not saying an A1 is impossible without going to the Gaeltacht, but I really think would be an immense challenge without any kind of immersion in the Irish language.

Edit: I say this as someone who was taught Irish badly in primary school, and struggled with HL Irish until I went to a Gaeltacht during the summer of second year. I continued to go each year after that until the summer of fifth year, attained an A2 in HL Irish in the LC, and came to be staff at my Gaeltacht college this summer gone. From my experience as both staff and student, I find that the Gaeltacht is of little benefit if the effort to speak the language isn't made. Put yourself out of your comfort zone, make an effort to string a sentence together with the vocab you know, no matter how long it takes you, and you will gradually improve. For a lot of people, it's not that they don't have the Irish vocab, it's that it doesn't come to mind quickly due to lack of practice. It's like learning to knit a jumper; you start off with the raw materials of needles and wool, but just having knitting needles and wool in your press won't get you to learn how to knit a jumper; it takes learning and practice again and again.
Sorry for my rambling, hope y'all are inspired :P

robman60

Your poll options are terrible. It makes a big, big difference but isn't essential. I can tell you that I went once and it sparked my interest (which led to me finally making an effort) and I went from a D-C student in 2nd year to and A student in JC and ultimately LC. You need to follow up afterwards though. Simply going for three weeks in a summer won't make you an A student but it's a damn good start.

phoebo

I'm not disagreeing with what's being said here, but it is definitely possible to do well in Irish without going to a gaeltacht/speaking Irish at home. I have always received A's in Irish and A1's this year, without ever going to a gaeltacht. Granted, my primary school was great at teaching Irish but it was not an Irish speaking one. If you want to improve your Irish without the expense of a gaeltacht I would advise reading Foinse/ watching TG4 but of course immersion would be a great help if it is feasible.

Magnate

Agree that the poll is a little flawed. It's going to make a difference but it's by no means essential.

An A1 is definitely achievable without going.

whoopsadaisy

It's not a necessity at all but we did a lot of oral work in 6th year, and out of my year, the ones who went to the Gaeltacht year upon year were clearly a cut above the rest of us. Tbh I just think you need to have a vested interest in Irish to get A in the Leaving Cert which people who go to the Gaeltacht clearly have. It just doesn't come natural if you don't speak it at home or haven't been to the Gaeltacht and imo the course content is a lot more difficult than what's expected in other languages. People who go have an advantage but it's not a necessity.

spurious

It's not a necessity, nor is it any sort of guarantee that you will get a high mark, but it does make a difference to be immersed in any language.

Mr Rhode Island Red

Thanks for all your views on this.

Apologies about the poll, but I was afraid that if I put in a middle of the road option a lot of people would just choose that instead of going left or right. Even though now after reading the responses I can see that a middle of the road option should have been included as the general consensus is "Not essential but helps an awful lot"

I honestly would love to go to the Gaeltacht myself, but financing it would be a bit of a problem for me, so I was wondering if not going...excluded...myself from a high grade.

Thanks again.

spurious

If you are in a VEC/ETB school, there are often scholarships to cover the cost of it.

randylonghorn

spurious wrote: »

It's not a necessity, nor is it any sort of guarantee that you will get a high mark, but it does make a difference to be immersed in any language.

I think this sums it up tbh.

I would also add that people often find that encountering the language in a more relaxed atmosphere out of school can be the spark that ignites their interest.

Most Gaeltachts seem to be making a (greater) effort in recent years to make their programmes enjoyable, and obviously we all learn much more easily when we're enjoying the experience rather.

I would stress what someone else said: it's pretty pointless going to the Gaeltacht if you're not got going to put in at least a reasonable effort; it may get mammy off your back, but that's about all it will achieve!

EoghanIRL

I absolutely hate Irish ! However your ability to memorise stuff is what's important for the exam . I have absolutely no interest in Irish and now that I have completed the lc I will never have anything to do with it again .
I never went to the Gaeltacht or on any exchanges for other languages .

Going to the Gaeltacht , as others have said , may drive you to do better or try harder .
I think it's important to note that even people who live in the Gaeltachts don't all get A1s

Triceratops Ballet

I went to the gaeltacht, all through secondary school, I didn't get an a1 I got a b1 but I never studied for it.

The poster who said the exam is about learning things off is correct in a lot of ways, 90% of my honours class did that and got by just fine, but they has to put a lot of time into it, spending hours memorising essays that might not come up. I never did my homework, or memorised a single essay, but having gone to the gaeltacht gave me the confidence and competance in the language to not have to do any of those things, and that's where the real value lies, so many people invest time learning essays by rote but if the topics not fully understanding the meaning, whereas going to the Gaeltacht meant I could think in Irish, I knew how to put together an essay in Irish almost as well as I could in English.

I know if I had put in the work, I would have definitely come away with an A1...so much wasted potential! but I never bothered because I didn't need the points, oddly enough I went on to do a degree in Irish!

AulBiddy

I went to the Gaelteacht and I still don't understand Irish properly when it's written down but if you speak to me I'm able to understand. It's not essential but I think it can help improve your listening and oral skills..