Important: Participants in this course will not be entitled to EPV days upon completion of the course.
The course is suitable for teachers who don’t feel confident when speaking or writing in Irish and who therefore wish to improve their language skills. The course is bilingual - an English translation is provided for every Irish sentence.

The main objectives of the course are:

• to teach the core aspects of Irish grammar relating to the themes of the curriculum through videos and enjoyable interactive activities
• to teach and present Irish grammar in a way that will help participants to teach the themes and language of the curriculum in the classroom (e.g. lesson plans and ideas for activities in the classroom)
• to give teachers the self-confidence and technical skills that will help them learn effectively and independently, which will improve their teaching skills
• to enable teachers to use Irish accurately and confidently in their teaching and in their communication with pupils
• to give teachers recommendations on ways to help students improve their literacyand linguistic skills through the use of technology, and way of measuring students progress in regard to Irish literacy skills.
• to advise participants in regard to school self-evaluation and school improvement
• to give teachers an opportunity to share practical ideas and activities for the classroom with each other in the course discussion forum.

Author

This course was written by Deirdre Nic Chárthaigh, and it’s based on grammar videos developed by Lisa Madden for Gaelchultúr, in conjunction with Éamonn Ó Dónaill.

Deirdre was born and raised in Artane in Dublin. She attended Coláiste Íosagáin and was awarded a full university scholarship by the Department of Education and Skills for attaining the best results in Leaving Certificate subjects completed through Irish.

She studied Modern Irish and History in Trinity College, Dublin. She became a scholar of Trinity College in her second year and earned a first class honours degree.

Module 1

• The Noun and Singular Adjective

Module 2

• The Noun and Plural Adjective

Module 3

• The Simple Prepositions

Module 4

• The Prepositions + The Definite Article

Module 5

• Irish Language Technolgical Resources

Course layout

There are five modules in this course and each module contains a mixture of videos and interactive exercises.

All the exercises are interactive. Once you have completed an exercise, you can then click on the ‘Seol’ (Send) button and receive feedback immediately. You’ll be told which answers were correct and which were incorrect, and you’ll be given the correct answers and a score.

At the beginning of each module, you’re told what the focus of that module is.

In order to move from one screen to another, all you have to do is click on the arrows which appear on the left-hand side (to go back) or on the right-hand side (to go forward), at the top and bottom of each screen. You can also click on any line of text under the words PLEAN AN AONAID on the left-hand side of the screen in order to access another part of the module.

On the last page of each module, An leathanach scoir, you’re given an overview of the work that you’ve done in that module and your total score for the module. You’re given several choices as well: to continue to the next module, to redo the module you’ve just completed, or go back to the very beginning of the course.

When can I begin the course?

Immediately! Students study the course independently of a teacher. This means that you can improve your Irish in the office or from the comfort of your home, at your own pace, and at whatever time suits you.

What happens if I have a question?

Write it on the forum! You’ll be able to contact other learners through this discussion forum. You can send messages, ask and answer questions, and express ideas there. Members of the Gaelchultúr team keep an eye on the forum, so they’ll be able to answer any tricky questions.