How to improve French and Irish aurals

KiaraA

I've just started sixth year and although I'm good at reading and writing in both French and Irish I find the aurals impossible to grasp. Can I get some tips on how to improve my listening comprehension skills including how long you think I should be practicing for each day/week and any podcasts or shows you think might help?

spurious

Films in French, TV5, French radio, videos on YouTube etc. - not so much to understand every word, but to get a feel for the flow of the language.
Similarly with Irish.

The recordings in the Leaving tend to be of people speaking in a slightly exaggerated fashion, so if you get used to the pace of normal conversations, the LC examples will seem much slower to you.

GalwayGrrrrrl

Tg4 is going to be your favourite channel - or radio na gaeltachta.

Smircle

Like the above reply says, French movies/TV shows are a good way to start. I used to put on French subtitles so that I could both hear and see the words at the same time, which was really helpful. I also found music useful - there are loads of french songs out there that are quite simple to understand and you may even like them. Elle Me Dit by Mica was the first one I listened to and I still do now, despite having done the LC last year.
If you like reading, audiobooks could be good - they can be quite expensive though, so maybe not people's first choice, but it worked for me. I used to read the book in french and then listen to the audio of it, so I wouldn't be completely at loss for what was going on when listening to it (I'm talking about kid's books, like Le Petit Prince - though, I did try Harry Potter in French but couldn't get over the fact Voldemort's middle name is Elvis xD). Ask your teacher if they have any extra resources to help you improve your listening skills - old mock aurals might be helpful, even if they are much harder than the real thing.
Good luck!

GalwayGrrrrrl

Colaiste lurgan make YouTube videos of chart songs as gaeilge - could be a fun way of getting in a bit more listening.