Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie

Repeating Irish Leaving Cert:Mature Student

Options
  • 15-06-2010 9:47am
    #1
    earmuffs08
    Registered Users Posts: 13 ✭


    Hi Guys,

    Like alot of people out there after a few years out working I've decided what I would really love to do is to go back and teach Primary School children. My main dilemma is my Irish, it's extremely bad!
    I did pass for my Leaving Cert and somehow did ok in it but now I need to go back and repeat my LC Honours Irish to hopefully go on to study to become a Primary School Teacher.
    I'm thinking i'l do a Leaving Cert course in Dublin in September (there are ones especially for people like me that are repeating to become a teacher) but I need to have a much better grasp of the language before September otherwise i'll be lost by day one.
    Any advice on what tools or websites can help me learn(almost from scratch) the rules, grammer etc that I would need to help me and start me out for the year ahead. I wasn't good at other languages at school either so it will be a hard road ahead and would need all the help I can get.
    Also if anybody else is in the same situation I would love to hear from you as I would love to study with somebody else for the motivation incase I start slipping!!

    OK thanks for reading,

    Caroline


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    pog it
    Registered Users Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭pog it


    Getting primary school jobs is EXTREMELY competitive and hard now. There are so many people qualified.

    You are going to need to properly stand out. So having better than average Irish will help you bigtime. Remember, a lot of primary school teachers have Irish in their BA. That's not to say you can't compete with them.

    Here's what you can do.

    Get a job in the Gaeltacht for the summer. Any job. And make yourself keep speaking Irish. Go to a class alongside it- there are classes going on everywhere. Conradh na Gaeilge and Gaelchultúr are two of the main organisations running classes.
    You can also get yourself a one to one class with a native speaker, one hour a week.

    Otherwise the best learning book and cd set is 'Learning Irish' by Michael Ó Siadhail, and you can get it in easons, or online shops. Look around for best price.


  • Options
    #3
    earmuffs08
    Registered Users Posts: 13 ✭earmuffs08


    Hi thanks for the reply,
    Yeah if been looking into the teaching for well over a year now and do realise how tough it is to get a job but I still aim to do the LC next year so at least i'll have that done and hopefully carry on improving my Irish until I get into a course for Primary Scholl teaching.

    It's not possible for me to go and work in the Gaeltacht, I have a job, a mortgage and a young daughter but I will look for "Learning Irish" that you recommended and start from there.

    Would you recommend going to somewhere like the Institute of Education to repeat my LC or would grinds be money better spent?

    Thanks again


  • Options
    #4
    pog it
    Registered Users Posts: 2,912 ✭✭✭pog it


    earmuffs08 wrote: »
    Hi thanks for the reply,
    Yeah if been looking into the teaching for well over a year now and do realise how tough it is to get a job but I still aim to do the LC next year so at least i'll have that done and hopefully carry on improving my Irish until I get into a course for Primary Scholl teaching.

    It's not possible for me to go and work in the Gaeltacht, I have a job, a mortgage and a young daughter but I will look for "Learning Irish" that you recommended and start from there.

    Would you recommend going to somewhere like the Institute of Education to repeat my LC or would grinds be money better spent?

    Thanks again

    The very best of luck Earsmuff, fair play to you you sound very committed.

    I'm sorry but I can't help ya re. where is best to repeat.

    The Learning Irish book is worth it for sure but it will be tough when you start out with it at first, best thing is to persist. If you still feel you need something to get you ready for Learning Irish you could try 'Buntús cainte' which are cheap little books. But you should be find with Learning Irish once you get into first couple of chapters.

    Anyway, very best of luck. BE sure and come back with any questions! The more questions you have the better. If you can at at all try do a solid hour a day for 6 months and you will be away with it!


  • Options
    #5
    earmuffs08
    Registered Users Posts: 13 ✭earmuffs08


    thanks again, and yeah i'm sure i'll have plenty of questions so i'll let you know although im not going to get very far if I keep misspelling school!!

    I just noticed it above!! Maybe i'll start with my spelling instead!


  • Options
    #6
    deise go deo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,677 ✭✭✭deise go deo


    You could also keep an eye out for the SÓS Series of books from the O'Brien press. Theres about 16 of them at the mo, there for an 8 year old standard of reading,So there not too hard but you will still come across words you dont know.There not that bad as far as story line goes either.

    Go n-eirí leat:)


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    siobhan ni
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭siobhan ni


    Hi Caroline- I will be delivering a course for mature students wishing to reapeat honours Irish 2011 starting in Blackrock co. dublin mid september. If you want more information you can view the comments from others students on www.frenchschool.ie
    Siobhan


  • Options
    #8
    carar
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭carar


    Hi guys,

    This is a great thread, like you I am really interested in returning to become a primary scool teacher, I think I am probably a bit older than you 32 and I plan on waiting for my son to start school in about 2-3 years. I just feel it would be less of a strain on all then, but like you my Irish was weak and I need to repeat that also. I am based in Cork so am considering college of com or Bruce, but feel i would be lost in a large class setting would def need a bit of one to one tuition. Any advice would be great the recommended reading is great 2 will def be investing in that immediately. Also could anyone advise as to what I could be doing to improve my Irish between this and then bearing in mind I'm a determined 32 yr old as compared to an immature 17yr old all that time ago,

    Thanks


  • Options
    #9
    deise go deo
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,677 ✭✭✭deise go deo


    I would sugest getting a copy of Búntus Cainte. I would also suggest haveing a look around for A Ciorcal Comhrá in Cork, I have found its a great way of Improving my Orla skills. Also try and have a look at TG4 from time to time.

    Go n-eirí an t-ádh leat:)


  • Options
    #10
    aimsirbia
    Registered Users Posts: 17 ✭aimsirbia


    pog it wrote: »
    Getting primary school jobs is EXTREMELY competitive and hard now. There are so many people qualified.

    You are going to need to properly stand out. So having better than average Irish will help you bigtime. Remember, a lot of primary school teachers have Irish in their BA. That's not to say you can't compete with them.

    Here's what you can do.

    Get a job in the Gaeltacht for the summer. Any job. And make yourself keep speaking Irish. Go to a class alongside it- there are classes going on everywhere. Conradh na Gaeilge and Gaelchultúr are two of the main organisations running classes.
    You can also get yourself a one to one class with a native speaker, one hour a week.

    Otherwise the best learning book and cd set is 'Learning Irish' by Michael Ó Siadhail, and you can get it in easons, or online shops. Look around for best price.

    hey, i'm going to be an external candidate for the leaving cert oral in april, am interested to know whether readers think it'll be worthwhile to go to a gaeltacht area for two wks, i'd like to live in a bean an ti "setting", i have a a fair bit if irish but become stunned by nerves/am afraid to speak though from mid feb i can hook up with a native speaker for an hour a week luckily. how can one access these hosts in the gaeltacht without doing a course as there are no courses at d moment. i'd be particularly interested in inis oirr but willing to practice anywhere, thanks in advance agus n-eiri an bothar libh


  • Options
    #11
    mschippy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1 ✭mschippy


    hi guys im new to this site.
    Im slogging it out and its not easy to prepare for the irishleacing cert. this is my 2nd year in a row to go at it.as the leaving cert course changes next year its my last chance. i was so close last year but hopefuly this year will get the c3. the aural was my down fall when i looked at the paper in september thats where i went down ah well i will be better prepared this year, it was11 years when i previously sat my leaving cert so i didnt do to bad.......its not easy and the writen paper looks a lot harder than you think once you get into it you will be supprised what you remember.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    deirdremf
    Registered Users Posts: 1,880 ✭✭✭deirdremf


    mschippy wrote: »
    hi guys im new to this site.
    Im slogging it out and its not easy to prepare for the irishleacing cert. this is my 2nd year in a row to go at it.as the leaving cert course changes next year its my last chance. i was so close last year but hopefuly this year will get the c3. the aural was my down fall when i looked at the paper in september thats where i went down ah well i will be better prepared this year, it was11 years when i previously sat my leaving cert so i didnt do to bad.......its not easy and the writen paper looks a lot harder than you think once you get into it you will be supprised what you remember.
    Buy "Learning Irish" by Mícheál Ó Siadhail, work through the book, listen to the tape. Do some work on it every day. Listen to Raidió na Gaeltachta, Raidió na Life, Raidió Fáilte, or Raidió Rí-Rá on the internet at www.rrr.ie
    Also live:
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056198270
    Beidh siad ag craoladh i mBaile Átha Cliath ar 92.1 FM, Corcaigh ar 106.7 FM agus Gaillimh ar 99.1 FM idir 5 - 18 Márta 2011.


  • Options
    #13
    deirdremf
    Registered Users Posts: 1,880 ✭✭✭deirdremf


    Nancy Stenson wrote exercises to go with Mícheál Ó Siadhail's book, and they are available for download here:
    http://www.phouka.com/stenson/intro.htm
    It's basic stuff, lots of repetition, just what is needed if you need to practice.


  • Options
    #14
    nbrome
    Registered Users Posts: 69 ✭✭nbrome


    Does anyone know if you can actually watch Buntus Cainte on video? Or is it just in book/cd format now?


  • Options
    #15
    Whathefeck
    Registered Users Posts: 23 ✭Whathefeck


    mschippy wrote: »
    hi guys im new to this site.
    Im slogging it out and its not easy to prepare for the irishleacing cert. this is my 2nd year in a row to go at it.as the leaving cert course changes next year its my last chance. i was so close last year but hopefuly this year will get the c3. the aural was my down fall when i looked at the paper in september thats where i went down ah well i will be better prepared this year, it was11 years when i previously sat my leaving cert so i didnt do to bad.......its not easy and the writen paper looks a lot harder than you think once you get into it you will be supprised what you remember.

    Im doing it as an external student as I am a mature student and already have an arts degree from years back but like others only have pass Irish in the Leaving. My standard of Irish is poor enough but I did a lot of learning off spiels for the oral and think i did ok, at least the examiner said I had good fluency which I thought was a good sign:)
    Anyway... The oral is over as of last week so I was wondering does any one have any tips to help me get over the written Irish. My written is piss poor but I have a lot of notes from a good once weekly course I am doing. However as of now besides going to the classes I havent touched on the written course yet. 8 weeks to go and now I'm intending to attack it head on. I'm most worried about the essay as this is where I feel my strategy of learning off things will be caught out but any advice on both paper i and 2 would be cool.
    All advice gratefully received.


  • Options
    #16
    Aard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    Read as much Irish as possible. It's the only way (short of finding somebody fluent and patient to practice with) to be able to say/write things off the cuff. I wouldn't worry about being too showy with set phrases, seanfhocail and the likes, but do go heavy on "complex" sentences. Relative clauses and stuff like that. Learning the difference between "a bhfuil" and "atá" will give you a whole lotta cred. Remember the essay is 80% language, 20% content. Don't worry as such about having a logically sound essay, but by the same token, this should be an easyish 20 points. The language portion would generally go for:
    - vocabulary (no way to get it stuck in your head other than read, read, read!)
    - spelling (it's actually an extremely regular system, once you understand that there are two "sets" of consonants, caol and leathan, but that they're indicated by the vowels.)
    - grammar (conjugate your verbs properly; get the tuiseal ginideach down; absent séimhiús and urús will not be forgiven; "is" VS "tá".)
    - flow (one sentence should read nicely into the next)

    Oh yeah, and keep reading! Can't stress it enough!


  • Options
    #17
    Fretser
    Registered Users Posts: 15 ✭Fretser


    H,i I've been thinking about primary teaching for some time now. I'm 31 and thinking about repeating my Irish next year, do you think I'd have enough time between now and then to get stuck into it and get the required C3? I've been listening to the Liam O'Maonlaoi cupla focal that came out a couple of years ago but I need some ideas on good grammar books to work on vocabulary etc. Any ideas? Thanks again for the information on this thread.


  • Options
    #18
    Aard
    Registered Users Posts: 4,905 ✭✭✭Aard


    Fretser wrote: »
    I've been listening to the Liam O'Maonlaoi cupla focal that came out a couple of years ago but I need some ideas on good grammar books to work on vocabulary etc. Any ideas?
    Why would you want a grammar book to learn vocabulary? :confused: At best they'll give you a verb or a noun, but with no idea how to use it in a sentence. If you want a grammar book, though, I'm pretty sure the one they use in schools is called Buntús Cainte.

    As for vocab: read! A novel, the news, blogs... it doesn't matter what you read, but you have to do it! It'll be tedious and tiring at the start, but there's no other way to get the words stuck in your head. You need to see the same word in a variety of contexts to understand how to use it properly, and so that it'll come to you quicker when you're speaking/writing.

    What's your current level? Could you hold a conversation entirely in Irish? Can you understand TG4? It doesn't matter how long, as such, you've been learning, or indeed how long since you last studied the language. All that matters is your practical competencies.


  • Options
    #19
    Cathaoirleach
    Closed Accounts Posts: 701 ✭✭✭Cathaoirleach


    The best way to quickly learn Irish is to get out there and speak it, and you don't need to be in the Gaeltacht to do so.

    Set aside a few hours each week and go to a 'ciorcal comhrá' (conversation circle) in your local area. Most are free, so you have no excuse. It doesn't matter if you only have a cúpla focal, people will help you. We all have to start somewhere.

    You just need to surround yourself with people speaking Irish, and you will pick it up in no time. If you look hard enough, you will find Irish language events and meet-ups in your area.


  • Options
    #20
    Delson
    Registered Users Posts: 2 ✭Delson


    Hi. Just following this chat and I like other people here what to become a primary school teacher but have to repeat irish. I have my oral in 2 weeks and I am really worried. 1 minute I think I can do it and the next minute I am planning to forget all about doing it. Just to many scary thoughts from the last time I done my leaving cert which was 20 years ago. For anyone who has repeated recently, I have a question about the oral. Did the examiner ask the usual question sthey ask the young er students, like about school, and what you done last summer, what u will do after the LC or did they ask more about what you work at etc... Please help I am putting myself through an awaful amount of stress and just dont know if I can do it.. I am normally such a fighter , but this has me shaking


  • Options
    #21
    johnolocher
    Closed Accounts Posts: 84 ✭✭johnolocher


    I wouldn't recommend Mícheal O Siadhails Learning Irish for anyone who doesn't have a basic grasp of Irish or an interest in grammar because if you don't it will get very boring very quickly learning lists of vocab.

    My advice is do a Spring course with Gaelchultur (or which you can also do anytime online if your not in Dublin), they offer all levels. And then I would take a more advance summer course in the Gaeltacht. And if you keep it up between the course you will be more than ready for September.

    Aside from the above course I highly recommend the Turus Teanga book/cd/DVD pack.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #22
    deirdremf
    Registered Users Posts: 1,880 ✭✭✭deirdremf


    johnolocher wrote: »
    I wouldn't recommend Mícheal O Siadhails Learning Irish for anyone who doesn't have a basic grasp of Irish or an interest in grammar because if you don't it will get very boring very quickly learning lists of vocab.

    My advice is do a Spring course with Gaelchultur (or which you can also do anytime online if your not in Dublin), they offer all levels. And then I would take a more advance summer course in the Gaeltacht. And if you keep it up between the course you will be more than ready for September.

    Aside from the above course I highly recommend the Turus Teanga book/cd/DVD pack.
    You need to have a somewhat academic frame of mind to use the book, but it is the only book that will really get you there, teaching you the genuine language, real, useful grammar and vocabulary.


  • Options
    #23
    nbrome
    Registered Users Posts: 69 ✭✭nbrome


    I have to disagree with this:
    'it will get very boring very quickly learning lists of vocab.'
    You DO get a list of vocab at the beginning of the chapter. This is followed by explanations of a few grammatical points, with lots of examples. Then you get a little 'article' to read, where the vocab and grammar come together. After that you get some exercises to see if you've really understood.
    I do agree, though, that you have to have an interest in grammar. I have just finished the book, it took me (slow-going) almost two years - but then I'm only doing it as a hobby. I had absolutely no knowledge of Irish before I started it. I can't praise it too highly. As someone else said, use the Nancy Stenson exercises along with it and you will have a pretty thorough knowledge by the end.


  • Options
    #24
    claragibb95
    Registered Users Posts: 1 ✭claragibb95


    Hi there.
    I found this trend while searching for info about repeating Irish LC. I'm 19 and in 1st year arts in NUIG. I did my LC in 2013 and got a b1 in pass Irish. I had a moment of weakness and fear during my LC year which resulted in me stupidly dropping down to pass Irish!! I've contemplated the Diploma sa Ghaeilge in NUIG but after taking a language test, i got placed in the B1 level, even though the enter requirement for any HDIP in primary teaching is a B2 in diploma sa Ghaeilge.
    I have some questions for the people who repeated their LC as that is probably what I will do. How much does it cost to repeat just Irish? And where did you repeat? Did you ask your local school or did your repeat somewhere else?


  • Options
    #25
    Dingle20144
    Registered Users Posts: 153 ✭✭Dingle20144


    has anyone recently gone back to sit the LC IRISH EXAM?

    If so PLEASE PM me as I am looking for guidance on essays/Scèal options!!

    Thanks a million


Advertisement