Is breá liom Gaeilge le mo chroí go léir, ach...

Retro_Reactive

Dia daoibh a chairde!. Juliet is ainm dom, agus beidh mé ag dul isteach 3ú bliain go luath. Cónáim i mBaile Átha Cliath, agus tá me cúig bliana déag d'aois.( I would continue to type in Irish, but I am tired, and want to get my point across.) I have loved the Irish language my whole life, particularly in school, and teachers have always remarked how good my Irish was in comparison to everyone else, particularly my current secondary school teacher, who has remarked repeatedly that I possess great enthusiasm for the language, and that I a very talented at the language. My classmates and my parents have also stated that I am very good at it also. I have always had a flair for languages, I must admit. This summer, I attended a Gaeltacht summer course, going with my male cousin, who had been twice before. This was a fatal mistake, I believe, going without a friend.


To summarize it, I didn"t enjoy my time there one ounce. I couldn"t click with anyone, and I found it socially isolating, and the coláiste itself very tedious and derelict in terms of facilities,teachers, classes, and activities. My béan an tí was lovely, and seemed to be found of me, and told me my Irish was very good, as did 2 of the teachers there. However, I didn"t like the girls in my house, and didn"t find the "lads" any better, particularly as I was initially placed in a room with a bitchy girl around my age, and a girl entering first year who had very basic Irish. Luckily, we were moved, as the príomhoide and the student in charge in the house had heard a lán Béarla á n-úsáid among them. ( They tried to blame me, but I insisted I didn"t). I didn"t shower for 4 days there, and I found the whole system army like, and very restrictive ( ie timed showers/phonecalls,continuous timed activities etc.).


So, after a few teary phonecalls to mo thuismitheoirí, my mum brought me home after a week. The principal didn"t even say goodbye, he just turned his back, and claimed I "isolated myself". I came home, bitterly disappointed by the whole experience, and quite ashamed at myself, for my failed attempt.


My béan an ti marvelled that I would have gotten on marvelous on the first course, as the majority were younger, and hadn"t been before, and told me that I would have been one of the best on such course. ( I am mature for my age though). None the less, I"m determined to not let it deter from my love of the Irish Language!. I can"t express how much I love Irish, I would live and breathe it every day of my life if I could. I regularly listen to Irish language radio stations, and watch TG4 the odd time. I have heard stories of people returning early from the gaeltacht, but I"ve come to the conclusion that the only way people my age certainly achieve fluency is by attending a gaeltacht residential course. I truly believe I"d prefer a foreign exchange or volunteering abroad ( Where you are given an opportunity to explore a country/city in depth, or help others), but I can"t stop dwelling on the fact that I didn"t take to it for those various reasons. It would be fine if I didn"t give a care for Irish, but I love it.

I was assured that maybe I had just had a bad experience by a staff member who had helped me pack my bag, and that there was always other options but I"m skeptical of wasting my parents money any further, but I feel as though I"ve given up a teenage right of passage by myself.I"m also cautious of the fact that my parents may believe I can"t cope away from home. of Is anyone aware of any Irish language clubs/organizations who provide services for classes/language learning?. I would love to become fluent in Irish, as it is beautiful, and I simply marvel at it"s rich history. Is there any other ways I could improve my Irish?. I"m a hardworker, and would be willing to try anything!. Slán go fóil.

craoltoir

Déan teagmháil le Ógras, an eagras gaeilge do dhaoine óga agus faigh amach an bhfuil sé ag feidhmiú i do cheantar. Tá go leor áiteanna chun gaeilge a chleachtadh sa chathair agus is mar sin a thiocfaidh feabhas ar an gcaighdeán agat. B'fhéidir go mbeadh múinteoir sa scoil sásta cabhrú leat grúpa do dhaoine óga a thabhairt le chéile, cupla scoil le chéile fiú, chun club gaeilge a bhunú?

Tá eolas faoi Ógras anseo: www.ogras.ie

Tá siúl agam go n-éireoidh go geal leat.

lfqnic

Tá, nó ar a laghad bíodh feachtas ann fosta, grúpa eile do dhaoine óga atá bunaithe (go bhfios domh) i mBÁC. Seans go bhfuil ciorcal comhrá i do cheantar fosta. Agus bí ag léamh! Tá an-chuid amuigh ansin don léitheoir óg - mar shampla, an táin i bhfoirm graphic novel!

Thar aon ní eile, ná bíodh beaguchtach ort. Is léir go bhfuil tú éirimiúil agus tiománta - ní bheidh stró ar bith ort í a sheilbhiú! Agus tá neart ama agat fós do thurais Ghaeltachta - tá níos mó craic ag baint leo nuair atá cead do chos agat! Ádh mór ort

FWVT

Fair play for taking such an interest in the language and not giving up on it, like so many do (myself included) due to the way it's taught. Irish is a language and should therefore be taught as such, not as a subject. But sin scéal do lá eile.

It's only recently (20 years after failing Irish in the Leaving) that I've found a new passion and pride for the language and try to be exposed to it as much as possible. What you went through at the Gaeltacht is something many your age go through and is a part of growing up. There are different personalities in every walk of life and there will always be incompatibilities, but the main thing is not to associate this bad experience with the language itself, letting it tarnish your love for it. I guarantee you that if you're brave enough to go back to the Gaeltacht next year to give it another chance then you will enjoy it hugely and will not regret it. This year's sour taste will be long gone but will stand to you in the form of life-skills and experience for later life.

Go n-éirí an bothar leat.

Grudaire

FWVT wrote: »

I guarantee you that if you're brave enough to go back to the Gaeltacht next year to give it another chance then you will enjoy it hugely and will not regret it.

I have only ever had positive experiences in Gaeltachts, but I have been very lucky. Molaim duit triall eile a bhaint as freastal ar cúrsa Samhradh. Is deis iontach é an teanga a úsáid agus foghlaim.

Some advice though:

• Make your own mind up about going, don't feel you have to go back!
• Do a proper investigation into the best Gaeltachts - ask your friends or anyone else you know who would have experience. (and ignore your Irish teacher! :P )
• There are a lot of Gaeltachts that are activity based, you might be better trying one of them this time around.
• There's always lots of free time - so no matter what you should bring a pack of cards
• If you have a friend who also plans on going you should try go with them. It's not necessary but it's nice to have someone on the first day!
• Get your parents to contact the Gaeltacht early - explain what happened last time, most Gaeltachts will be willing to tell you which course would suit you (age, language ability and experience wise). Actual roommates is a bit of a lottery though!
• If you decide to go - commit fully. Don't travel down thinking about last times bad experience

Dubhghaill1975

Maith Thú Juliet!

Is breá liom Gaeilge, agus tá mé ag foghlaim an teanga arís i ranganna oíche. Níl Gaeilge líofa agam fós, ach beidh mé go luath

People like you Juliet are a credit to our wonderful language. Keep at it and don't let these things get you down. Having traveled worldwide in recent years, I am utterly ashamed at how little respect Irish people have for our own language in comparison to most countries where the natives can speak their own language and at least 2 others. Needless to say, the Irish are experts at all the usual pathetic excuses - "Oh, the British killed Irish" "Oh, it's too hard" "Oh, it's a dead language" "Oh, it's a useless language we can't make any money from" - Nonsense.

Look at Franco's Spain where Basque, Galician, Catalan, Aragon, Asturian, Occitan, etc, nearly died out because of his language policy and look at how healthy those language are today - in comparison to this, the Irish excuses are nothing short of toe-curling. Ditto for Irish people who claim to be Irish, yet are clearly Anglocentric in every way imaginable - can only speak English and nothing else, pathological obsession with the Premiership, pathological obsession with English soaps and X-Factor, refer to Liz Windsor as "The Queen" in the definite article sense, etc, yet go bananas in the Algarve or Costa Del Sol when some poor native naturally mistakes them as English.

Thanks to people like you Juliet, Gaeilge has a chance
Coinnigh ar iarraidh, agus meas a thabhairt duit.

GAEILGE GO DEO.