Classroom

The best way to learn is to belong to a class. That way you have people to practice with and you will all be learning together which makes it more enjoyable.

When you commit to a class then you do have some obligations to the organisers and also to your fellow students. Here is the induction handout that we give to our own students ... Readme You will still find most of it relevant no matter where in the world you are studying.

If there is no class near where you live then you may need to use one of the tape or CD-based courses that are available, but take every opportunity to listen to Radio na Gaeltachta or TG4 on the internet. At some point you may want to attempt an exam in order to see how you are doing or maybe gain accreditation for some vocational purpose. Here are some useful websites. You'll find that their publications can usually be downloaded and saved on your own computer as pdf files or as Ms-word documents.

• The National University of Ireland at Maynooth currently offers a two stage exam specially for adult learners. (Equivalent to levels A1 and A2 in the Common European Framework) Other levels will be available next year. The exams will be held each April at the campus. A syllabus, handbook and application form are available at their website ... www.nuim.ie
• The Department of Education and Science is responsible for teaching in Ireland at both primary and secondary school levels. They publish syllabuses and teacher guidelines for most subjects including Irish ... www.education.ie
• The National council for Curriculum and Assessment sets the syllabus for the various examinations used in schools and elsewhere. They have two very good documents available covering curriculum and teacher guidelines for Irish Language in primary school but these can be easily adapted for older learners ... www.ncca.ie
• Old exam papers from secondary school level are available at ... www.examinations.ie
• There is a special qualification known as the SCG (Scrúdú le haghaidh Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge) which is for trained teachers, usually from outside Ireland, who would like to come and teach in Irish primary schools. Full details including sample examinations are available at ... www.scwgeb.ie
• In Northern Ireland the equivalent body is called the Department Of Education for Northern Ireland, with a website at ... www.deni.gov.uk/
• Curriculum In Northern Ireland, as elsewhere in the UK is set by ... www.ccea.org.uk/