Question(s) about assessment

Irlandesaaa

Right, so...as u may have seen from my oldest threads here LOL I live in Brazil and would like to attend to a course as gaeilge in Ireland: that means I'd have to do leaving certs. Again. ¬¬

I've done ENEM here (<-- that's the Brazilian "leavin certs", 12 subjects meánscoile plus a little essay in a single weekend) and - thanks god, dunno how i managed - got fairly good marks. And...I don't feel like struggling again to pass maths and science there (biology, chemistry, physics), even coz I think these would be a complete waste of time which could be spent studyin irish & english instead. (i'm doin "translation" here, after all, so my college projects here may also help me study for the irish one ) so here's the question: how's the leaving certs assessment in Ireland (to apply for college)? average or per subject? and if it's per subject, can i just do the irish/english papers properly and take a guess on other subjects? or do i have to pass all of them?

thanks a lot in advance!!

randylonghorn

Hi Irlandesaaa,

we might need to clarify a few things with you before we can attempt to give you any kind of sensible answer.

1) What kind of course are you looking to do? ... is it simply that you wish to learn Irish informally, or do you want to do a full undergraduate degree in Irish, or ... ?

2) You mention you are doing "translation" in college at the moment ... is this a degree course, or what? In other words, when you come to Ireland, will you already be a graduate?

Um ... probably other things, but at least a bit of clarity on those would get us started I think.

Irlandesaaa

lol no problem, it's a confusing situation indeed :P

1) well i do speak irish...maybe i'd have to improve the grammar, etc but definitely not "start from the basics". Aye, i'm lookin for an undergraduate course maidir le gaeilge...such as "léann aistriúcháin" or "cumarsáid", etc. Havent searched enough about colleges outside Galway, though xD and faoi láthair i'm tryin to get in touch with NUI staff about the same topic, but no such luck lol and i do need this information about whether i can focus on irish only for leavin certs or not, coz the sooner i start studyin, the better will be my results in the end of the day

2) yes, i'll have graduated here before going to Ireland. I'm starting college term in february, it's a course focusing on translation (portuguese/english). But the irish language is what i'm truly passionate about lol that's why i wouldnt mind doing another undergraduate course (in Ireland) just for the sake of it

thanks a lot for the attention, i do appreciate it...go raibh míííle

*excuse my poor english, i'm still improvin it (i guess) xD

randylonghorn

Ok ... your case is pretty unusual (:pac:) and I don't have any definitive answers for you really.

But my instinct is that you shouldn't need to sit LC at all.

You will already have a degree, yes? So you're not necessarily looking to take another undergraduate degree for the sake of it, as I understand it, it's more that you need to ...

... find a course that suits your standard of Irish and allows you to progress it

... preferably has accreditation so that you have something to show at the end of it by way of a qualification

... and, obviously, although you will have a degree, it won't be in Irish so direct entry into a postgraduate course (in Irish at least) isn't an option.

One thing which might be worth looking at is the Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (European Certificate in Irish) ... LOTS of information here. This is a ladder or series of structured classes and exams in Irish aimed at adult learners mainly, and it is linked to the European Framework for Languages, so the level you achieve is clear / transparent outside of Ireland.

It might not be a bad place to start. There are sample syllabi and exam papers on that site which will help you to judge at what level you might be starting, and there is normally guidance and informal assessment available when you apply to help you be sure that you're jumping in at the right level.

In addition, several of the universities offer a Dioplóma sa Ghaeilge (basically an undergraduate diploma in Irish) which can be accessed from TEG (or indeed directly, if your standard is high enough).

The only disadvantage is that most of these courses are part-time rather than full-time, but they can be used to improve your Irish and to demonstrate what level you're at when applying for full-time courses, rather than having to do LC. They tend to concentrate much much more on language (oral and written) rather than the poems / literature you would have to study for Leaving Cert Irish ... one of the reasons they suit adult learners much better than LC.

Pop an email to Róisín Ní Dhushláine at NUI Maynooth or if anyone knows a good contact for the equivalent in NUI Galway, they might pop it up here (there are so many people listed on their website, I have no idea who might be the appropriate person!)

Be sure to mention that you are currently an undergraduate; what exactly you're doing; when you expect to finish; when you hope to come to Ireland; etc. Try to give them some indication of your current level of Irish. All this will help them to give you a more useful answer.

Boa sorte!

Irlandesaaa

thanks a lot for the kind reply!!!

makes sense, maybe i dont have to do it at all (yayyy!!! lol)
and yes, that's right, i'd like to be able to make professional translations in irish as well as english, so i'd certainly need a dioplóma or somethin alike

dont worry, Maynooth is perfect! lol much closer to my friends & boyfriend (Dublin) than Galway xD

cgl, so that means i'd have to do TEG and apply for the college afterwards, an ea? no problem! thanks for the information and yeah, it would b interesting to study literature too, but LC is quite demanding on that ^^' so TEG is definitely a better option, dar liom

ok, i'll take your advice...and see what happens ^^

randylonghorn

Irlandesaaa wrote: »

thanks a lot for the kind reply!!!

makes sense, maybe i dont have to do it at all (yayyy!!! lol)
and yes, that's right, i'd like to be able to make professional translations in irish as well as english, so i'd certainly need a dioplóma or somethin alike

dont worry, Maynooth is perfect! lol much closer to my friends & boyfriend (Dublin) than Galway xD

cgl, so that means i'd have to do TEG and apply for the college afterwards, an ea? no problem! thanks for the information and yeah, it would b interesting to study literature too, but LC is quite demanding on that ^^' so TEG is definitely a better option, dar liom

ok, i'll take your advice...and see what happens ^^

Well, treat it less like "advice" and more "things to explore / enquire about", because I'm no expert in the area!

There are probably similar options available through UCD or elsewhere in Dublin for that matter ... not knowing you had contacts in Dublin, I was deliberately going for Maynooth or Galway as they would be smaller colleges and smaller towns, and would be easier to settle in and get to know people ... UCD, for example, is quite big and impersonal and even some Irish people find it hard enough to settle in there unless they know some other students when they start.

But yes, Maynooth would be quite easy to reach from Dublin, many students do just that.

Irlandesaaa

ok, dont worry

nah, there's no need, really. I've got friends all around Ireland actually ^^ but most of them live in Dublin, nearby towns and western gaeltacht where r u from? lol
Brazil's a huge chunk of land, so i'm kinda used to doing long trips...going from Galway to Dublin would be, say, like from here to São Paulo, pretty closeby ^^' but i'm happy with the idea of living in Maynooth, maybe it's truly easier to settle in there
thanks again!