Irish *sigh*

the smiley one

Ok, I basically just want to bitch (and ask for advice) about the subject
I'm really trying to maintain my zest for the subject, but any enjoyment I have gotten out of it in the past is seriously waining....

First of all there's the essays. I have heard that you have to learn on off to get a good mark (btw I'm aiming for an A). But that just seems like such a futile excercise! It's just for the LC and nothing else!! The only way I can study is if I think that the study that I am doing will benefit me somehow in later life and learning off reems of paper by heart is just counter-productive cuz it makes me HATE the subject!!!!!!
Ne advice?

Second of all there's the stair na gaeilge - and this REALLY p*sses me off. We just have to learn reams of paper about stuff that is totally irrevelant to ANYTHING. I wouldn't mind it so much if the vocab learned could be used for something else - but it CAN'T! ARGH!

That's just off the top of my head, the stuff that frustrates me........ You see I love listening and oral(I think I did well cuz she said at the end when the tape was turned off "Tá Gaeilge síor-mhaith agat") but just can't get my head around grammar and the like

sorry I needed to get that off my chest

randomfella

1. u don't need to learn off essays to get an A, of course it would help. But u can still get ur A by just having neccessary vocab and good irish.
2. Stair na Gaeilge - just learn ruraiocht and few others. I agree that is just memorising facts and sentences by heart. The language used in it is slightly more advanced than the rest of the text book too which does nothing but hinder study.

Listening is my weakest, i'm not sure why because my oral is good. ITs the whole accent, its just too strong sometimes to hear especially with the different dialects.

hullaballoo

Look, Irish is a breeze. if you're stuck, I'm giving grinds at some stage in the next while--as are many other people.

Also, there's a list of phrases in the "Doing the Lc?" Thread in this forum which are really useful for essays, but also their idiomatic so they reflect the way irish is spoken in real life, they really polish off your essay writing.

there are loads of grind websites too. just do a few googles.

any other problems, feel free to pm me...if there's one thing i hate, it's people throwing the towel in just because irish is taught really badly. :mad:

Auf/Slán

chickens

I say grind is very good. I learnt to talk it a bit first (naturally that ment i did hopeless in the junior cert) but the more and more you talk it the easier it gets to writ it, I think. When you talk you think "that sound right?", but so often you not talk irish about irish topice (that make any sense?), what I mean is say An trial, we do that, it about pregnant girl, yes, that not something you used to talking about in irish, especially all that social stuff.

I also say relax about it, I know people, so uptight, they think, I not know anything and then they don't notice what they learn. My teacher say learn few sentances but never essay as then you can forget what you say, also it to hard, espically with other subjects to study.

Maybe friend and you could talk irish about an trial and your stories, like you could talk about english book?? I try that, but i talk to my family (they not speak irish but I still find it helps) if your friend also does irish they could say oh, you say that wrong. Talk is much easier to learn then writeing you see, that how they teach languages as home you see, first you talk, then you write and it really works very well. Good luck

Dublin's Finest

me no understand last post


ugga bugga

chickens

oh, I am sorry. I try, you mind me asking what did I say wrong?

Sorry but what is "ugga bugga"?, it's not in my dictionary.

randomfella

ur taking the piss right?

chickens

Me??? Am i joking? no. I never heard that phrase before, it isn't in my dictionary so I was only asking.

randomfella

u obviously are working off some shoddy pocket dictionary, u need a bigger dictionary rite here.

chickens

And what use is that?? Do i pay for big dictionary on the internet? Why? I have big english dictionary and big translator dictionary from home. The word is not there, I'm sorry, I only asked. I think it you who "take the piss".

dudara

Chickens is foreign, cop yourselves on.

BTW chickens, good luck to you with irish.

chickens

Thank you, it nice sounding language, also more fun then study in school!

*Angel*

randomfella wrote:

u obviously are working off some shoddy pocket dictionary, u need a bigger dictionary rite here.

a$$hole :mad:

chickens

Please, no crossness, please, I sure he didn't know I not Irish, please, no fights.

randomfella

so what if "chickens is foriegn"? i'm only joking with her. Saying she needs a bigger dictionary to find that word is just taking the piss because its obviously not in them. Stop being so uptight. Lighten up.

dudara

Unfortunately randomfella, your sense of humour ain't appealing. This is the LC forum, so unless you have helpful irish hints, leave it be.

chickens

No worry, it all sorted now, misunderstandings happen. One thing though to correct. I her, not him.

hullaballoo

chickens wrote:

No worry, it all sorted now, misunderstandings happen. One thing though to correct. I her, not him.

HA! All chauvanists! Go n-éirí libh go léir ar aon nós!

chickens

?? Oh dear, my irish no that good!! I recognise words (at least i can say them though!!) so that a start.

hullaballoo

No big deal chickens, it's just a common Irish way of saying "good luck to you all" - "Go n-éirí libh go léir". "Ar aon nós" means "anyway".

Auf

angeldelight

the smiley one wrote:

First of all there's the essays. I have heard that you have to learn on off to get a good mark (btw I'm aiming for an A).

No its not true, I got an A1 and I didn't learn any essays off, I learned some vocab that I could use for any essay e.g. im' thuairimse, dar liom, then I read lots and lots of articles in foinse so that I had vocab to do with major areas e.g. daoine oga, sport, an timpeallacht, polaiteoiri, etc.

Second of all there's the stair na gaeilge - and this REALLY p*sses me off. We just have to learn reams of paper about stuff that is totally irrevelant to ANYTHING. I wouldn't mind it so much if the vocab learned could be used for something else - but it CAN'T! ARGH!

No you more than likely can't use the vocab again but if you're really aiming for an A and want an A you'll just have to sit down and learn the stair. THe marks are so so simple to get with a minimum of effort that it's nearly quicker to get on and learn them than complaina bout having to do it. I'd advise you not to do any authors, do the historical topics cause A. They're more interesting to learn B. They're less similar to each other so there's less confusion and C. there's less of them than the writers but enough always come up to make it worthwhile to leave the writers out.

Camogie Playa

Stair is the easiest thing to learn and is interesting so it makes it easier to learn!Its the only thing i enjoy learning

Leprachaun

im exempt so im pretty happy

the smiley one

Thanks for all the help, advice, (off-topic stuff) etc. Right , so I'm trying to get in a positive frame of mind about the whole LC Irish HL thing.
Just one thing I need to clarify, to get 80+ on the essay, exactly how good does your grammar need to be? Do you need to use complicated structures like the tuisil gineadeach, etc. and do all your urús séimhiú etc. have to be perfect (if so I'm screwed....am fairly ok on tenses, but the finer points of grammar )

angeldelight wrote:

No its not true, I got an A1 and I didn't learn any essays off, I learned some vocab that I could use for any essay e.g. im' thuairimse, dar liom, then I read lots and lots of articles in foinse so that I had vocab to do with major areas e.g. daoine oga, sport, an timpeallacht, polaiteoiri, etc.

So, if I learn a few basic topics, as mentioned above, I will basically do ok? I have a fairly good standard of vocab (have a wierd tendancy for remembering the most unlikely words...) it should all work out?

angeldelight wrote:

No you more than likely can't use the vocab again but if you're really aiming for an A and want an A you'll just have to sit down and learn the stair. THe marks are so so simple to get with a minimum of effort that it's nearly quicker to get on and learn them than complaina bout having to do it. I'd advise you not to do any authors, do the historical topics cause A. They're more interesting to learn B. They're less similar to each other so there's less confusion and C. there's less of them than the writers but enough always come up to make it worthwhile to leave the writers out.

Yeah, I was going to do that anyway, but its just soooo TEDIOUS and hard to learn.... yes yes I kknow I'm very lazy and a whiner....That's the thing I can't bear to think that out of the whole exam I could lose the marks on the thing that I could have learned off - it seems stuipd and sickening
Ok, will start learning tomorrow!

angeldelight

the smiley one wrote:

.
Just one thing I need to clarify, to get 80+ on the essay, exactly how good does your grammar need to be? Do you need to use complicated structures like the tuisil gineadeach, etc. and do all your urús séimhiú etc. have to be perfect

It doesn't need to be perfect, but it does need to be very good, as most of the marks are going for grammar and not many for the actual idea of what you're writing. I'd say don't try to use loads and loads of complicated grammar as you are more likely to get it wrong. You should try and learn off one or two of the more impressive phrases that you might have come across (very general ones so you can use them no matter what the topic), making sure you know them completely and apart from that keep your sentences short and to the point, so you have more chance of getting them right. Another thing I'd say is learn lots of ways of saying the same thing, it doesn't look great if you have dar liom twenty times through the essay and no other phrases like ceapaim or whatever. Most examiners aren't going to look too favourably on you if you have all your urus seimhius wrong because they'll mark them all so when they come to the end and look back over the script before they give the grammar mark they'll see a huge amount of red pen...

So, if I learn a few basic topics, as mentioned above, I will basically do ok? I have a fairly good standard of vocab (have a wierd tendancy for remembering the most unlikely words...) it should all work out?

It should, but obviously the more vocab you know the better. And don't be afraid to twist an essay title a bit to suit you (not too much obviously or it's too obvious). in my mocks I hadn't really done anything on politics but a debate on it came up and I didn't like any of the other titles so I talked about politicians in relation to sport, the environment and young people, which i had a lot of vocab on and I got over 90 for the essay so you can be a little creative!