Gaeltacht or Spanish Course?

blankspace123

Hi, I'm going into 6th year in September and I can't decide between going to the Gaeltacht for three weeks (Rann na Feirste/Rannafast) or going on a Spanish course in the Institute of Education in Dublin. I have a partial scholarship for the Gaeltacht so it and the Spanish course would be working out at around the same price. None of my friends will go to the gaeltacht though so I'd be going on my own and that really scares me. I do ordinary level irish, i got an A1 in my written summer exam but I'm not so good with the oral. I do higher level spanish and I got a B3 in it but i want to improve my grade to at least a B1 if i can. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea what to do. Thanks

Doctorhopeful

blankspace123 wrote: »

Hi, I'm going into 6th year in September and I can't decide between going to the Gaeltacht for three weeks (Rann na Feirste/Rannafast) or going on a Spanish course in the Institute of Education in Dublin. I have a partial scholarship for the Gaeltacht so it and the Spanish course would be working out at around the same price. None of my friends will go to the gaeltacht though so I'd be going on my own and that really scares me. I do ordinary level irish, i got an A1 in my written summer exam but I'm not so good with the oral. I do higher level spanish and I got a B3 in it but i want to improve my grade to at least a B1 if i can. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have no idea what to do. Thanks

Are you doing honours spanish? If so, definitely do the spanish course over the gaeltacht.

Worth more marks and a pass in ordinary (which besides personal achievement is all you really get) isn't worth the amount of money spent if you go to a gaeltacht

Not sure if you're like me, but I started off 6th year with intentions of an A1 in pass irish and then slowly realise that it really wasn't worth the work. An A1 in pass irish basically means nothing is what I'm saying.

TL;DR DO THE SPANISH COURSE

Pookla

Both have their merits.

I'm going to assume that you prefer Spanish over Irish (just a generalising view about those who take HL vs OL in varying subjects) which puts Spanish out in front a bit. The fact that you stand to gain more from HL Spanish from OL Irish also pushes it a bit further in terms of what you're likely to benefit most from.

The biggest reason to consider the gaeltacht would be if you are in any danger of not securing a passing grade next Summer. If you're clear on that front, I'd go with Spanish.

But try not to let where your friends are going dictate where you go too much. You'll make friends at either and both could be a bit of fun.

randylonghorn

Pookla wrote: »

The biggest reason to consider the gaeltacht would be if you are in any danger of not securing a passing grade next Summer. If you're clear on that front, I'd go with Spanish.

But try not to let where your friends are going dictate where you go too much. You'll make friends at either and both could be a bit of fun.

Spot on.

spurious

Have you looked at Spanish revision courses in the Instituto Cervantes? Just as an option. They are very good value, in terms of what you get - class size, native speaker teachers, etc..

Iamtheduchess

Personally would say Spanish grinds as it really would help you get to the A1 standard which is worth a lot of points. Gaeltachts are usually geared for people aiming at an A1 in Higher Irish. The work level required for higher is much more than ordinary so they mightn't be able to be the most helpful in your situation.