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Jeff’s TAC 2015/Team Celts/Gaelic (Irish) log

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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 9 of 53
14 July 2013 at 12:32pm | IP Logged 
Yeah, music is what brought me to the language in the first place (I got my Linguaphone course in 1992), and to the country itself just before the turn of the century (I went to Miltown Malbay, Co. Clare in 1999 (tenor banjo in sessions;box classes with Jackie Daly), 2000 (tenor banjo in sessions;box classes with Conor Keane), 2001 (I just brought my banjo) and 2002 (fiddle, with less than a year of practice)). Fiddle is my main focus right now, so it was great fun to play with the Byrnes.

Whereabouts in Ireland are you?
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liammcg
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 Message 10 of 53
14 July 2013 at 12:37pm | IP Logged 
I was down in Miltown at the beginning of the week, surprisingly quiet, though I think
this could be explained by the mad rush to Spanish point to catch some sun. I'm from
North-West Co. Mayo, the Gaeltacht region of Iorras.
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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 11 of 53
14 July 2013 at 3:19pm | IP Logged 
I thought about going to GCC and then Miltown, but realised (long before the trip) that one week would be enough for me. I got my share of music anyway.
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montmorency
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 Message 12 of 53
14 July 2013 at 9:19pm | IP Logged 
Jeff, you've inspired me to look to see what similar courses might be available in Wales
for Welsh, maybe in about a year or so, after I've done some spadework on the grammar and
vocab.

I was quite keen on it several decades ago, but am not studying actively at the moment.
Time I thought about getting back in the saddle I think.


Shouldn't be much interference from German or Danish, I wouldn't think. :)
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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 13 of 53
14 July 2013 at 11:59pm | IP Logged 
I found this one:
http://welshforadults.cardiff.ac.uk/learning/summer-welsh-co urse

I'm sure Torbyrne/Richard Simcott has some information.
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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 14 of 53
03 September 2013 at 11:54pm | IP Logged 
Alright, time for an update.

I received the two Gaeilge gan Stró volumes after just a few days. So far, I've only skimmed the first one, and maybe studied the first two or three lessons. Surprisingly enough, I found one of the teachers from Gleann Cholm Cille in unit 2.

I've been using TY Irish for my scriptorium exercise (I've almost finished that one).

I've listened to random programmes from RnaG.

Until last Friday, I was on the waiting list for the university course, but now I have a place. We had our first online class in Adobe Connect earlier this evening. The teacher went through basic greetings, pronunciation, and then we introduced ourselves in pairs/small groups. In my group there was a girl whose partner turned out to be the Irish guy (from Co. Meath) I had met in GCC two months ago. It's a small world. There will be three more online classes (one every other Tuesday, more or less), and then a final exam in the beginning of November. It's just an introduction to Modern Irish, and part-time. The second course (Modern Irish II) will run for another six-seven weeks, and build on the knowledge acquired in Modern Irish I.

Not that I don't have the discipline to study on my own, but sometimes it helps having assignments.
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montmorency
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 Message 15 of 53
07 September 2013 at 12:21am | IP Logged 
jeff_lindqvist wrote:
I found this one:

http://welshforadults.cardiff.ac.uk/learning/summer-welsh-co urse


I'm sure Torbyrne/Richard Simcott has some information.



Belated thanks for that one. I had a lot of distractions around that time, and took my
eye off that particular ball, but since then, I re-kindled my interest in Welsh, and
discovered SSiW, which was a very painless intro (certainly in the financial sense, as
they let you download one complete course for free, which is a non-trivial amount of
audio material). However, it was the prospect of what they call "Bootcamps", which are
residential weeks held in Wales, that clinched it for me. I had your week in Ireland at
the back of my mind when all this came above my radar, so I still have you to thank for
the inspiration.   Their "Bootcamp" isn't intensive in the lesson sense, since there
are no lessons as such, but it's strict immersion in that there is a no English rule,
and it sounds like the students are usually pretty good about not "cheating". It's
located in a Welsh speaking area, and there are lots of chances to get out and about
and interact with the locals, apparently.

There won't be another one available until spring 2014 now, and hopefully I'll be in a
position to appreciate it by then. They stipulate that you should have completed course
1 before you do a bootcamp, and it probably would be better if you'd got well into
course 2 as well. I'm lucky that there is an active Meetup group almost on my doorstep,
and quite a few people doing the course regularly Skype away, so there is really no
excuse for not getting in speaking practice, in addition to the course itself....


(They offer a few other languages, including Cornish, but not so far Irish, Gaelic or
Breton, although I'm sure they'd be happy to, one day, if they can find the right
teachers).
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jeff_lindqvist
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 Message 16 of 53
01 January 2014 at 2:53am | IP Logged 
Summary of 2013

2013 has been a very exciting year for me. I joined my first TAC, immersed myself for some time, started studying the language at the university, started reading my first novel, the list goes on...

According to my checklist from July, I had plans to:


  • attack TY Irish again, maybe do some scriptorium
    DONE (scriptorium included!)

  • locate my mp3 files for my Linguaphone Cúrsa Gaeilge (my tape recorder isn’t reliable and I don’t want to risk my cassettes) - if nothing else, I’ll review that course once again
    DONE (I found the files but have been busy with the other study material)

  • do some serious grammar study (I’ve got Nancy Stenson’s “Basic Irish” from the library, there’s also “Intermediate Irish”)
    DONE - most of our homework is grammar oriented to start with, and sometimes our teacher pick exercises for the online classes from “Basic Irish”

  • take the university course (I’ve ordered the two Gaeilge gan Stró volumes)
    DONE (details below)

  • read An Hobad
    DONE (details below)

  • go back to Ireland for the weekend course in October
    This was the only thing I didn’t do.



What have I done since September?
I’ve had online classes every second or third week (Modern Irish I and currently Modern Irish II, offered by the Uppsala University). One more online class (within a week or two), then it’s time for the second exam (mid-January), and hopefully Modern Irish III (if enough students want it).

I’ve been approaching An Hobad/The Hobbit in several ways: one sentence in Irish, then one in English; or the other way around; a paragraph in Irish, then the same in English; or the other way around. At this stage I can’t say which of the four ways is most beneficial for me. I learn a lot no matter how I read the text. Occasionally I understand a whole sentence! That feels great. I never look up a single word, but I read the Irish text aloud.

I’ve listened a lot to RnaG, usually the news around noon (I once recognized one of the newscasters as one of the voice actors from Gaeilge gan Stró)

I’ve watched the Glaoch an Cheoil series on TG4 (eight episodes à 25 minutes)

Spreadsheet stats:
Scriptorium 18.25 hours
Listening 22.5 hours
Reading 7 hours
Analysis (grammar exercises etc.) 67.5 hours
Shadowing 21.25 hours
Total 136.5 hours
Average 22 min/day

Entries in Anki: 1748 (words and phrases, L2->L1)

Highlights of 2013
Speaking Tarzan-Irish at Oideas Gael: one-on-one with my teacher, with fellow learners during the coffee-breaks, and with my room mate at the B&B - that gave me a rush each time. Practice paid off, and the friendly environment gave me the confidence to use whatever Irish I had. I’ll never forget that feeling.

Current level
limited active skills in a limited range of topics, whatever that is on a CEFR scale
good understanding of low-level material, decent understanding of advanced lessons, i.e. I can look at a lesson I haven’t studied and still get something out of it
good listening comprehension of topics I can handle (we once did an exercise where we should take notes of what our class mate read aloud, and I nailed nearly every sentence word-for-word)

Goals for 2014
finish the university course(s)
finish the second volume of Gaeilge gan Stró
go back to Oideas Gael in July, possibly for a two-week immersion (aiming for a higher level)

Edited by jeff_lindqvist on 04 January 2014 at 11:44am



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