GaeilgeGirl

Ugh, don't get me started on Google Translate! The only times I really use it is to refresh my memory on a word I know or check to make sure I spelled it correctly. It doesn't understand context or complex grammar rules. It's nice if you are learning a language and need a refresher, or you want to know how to pronounce a word (I'm not sure on this, as Irish doesn't have this feature on Google Translate yet), but it's not really reliable.

Hello! I've been studying Gaeilge for a year and a half online. I started because I love Celtic Women, Clannad, Anúna, and all the wonderful Irish language songs out there, and I wanted to understand the words. I'm not very good with languages, but I've made some progress, and could probably talk to a toddler at this point. I changed my Facebook language to Gaeilge to help me out, and that's done some good. My pronunciation is probably awful because I live in the U.S. and no one here speaks Gaeilge, but I'm still doing my best.

I've been studying for a year and a half on Duolingo, and I need some regular, real-word practice. I listen to music to help me learn, especially Clannad and Anúna. Things to read or learning materials would also be welcome. Thanks!

Personally, I'm more than happy to be corrected. Sure, I'll be a bit embarrassed at first, but I'd rather know so I can say a word right later on. If this person is a friend and an eager student, chances are he wants to get it right, so he may welcome some gentle correction, and obviously, as his friend, you won't be mean or snarky about it. Or maybe you can offer a practice session with him, where you say the word and he repeats it back to you.

I have Duolingo on my PC and I love love LOVE it! It's been the best language learning resource I have. I'm amazed at how well I'm doing with it, and I'm not that great at learning languages. The only thing I would add to it would be a dictionary feature that has the word, the meaning, and audio on how to pronounce it. Maybe the words would be unlocked as you do the lessons. That would be awesome.

I tried to, but I wasn't that great at learning languages. I learned a bit of Spanish from a teaching record for kids (Yes, a vinyl record on a record player! Now I feel old!) that my grandmother had when I was about four or five, but it was pretty limited. My elementary school didn't teach languages, and in middle and high school our choices were limited, and I didn't have much interest in the languages offered to us. I would have loved to learn Hindi or Irish, but those weren't options. I had a six-week elective class in Chinese language and culture, but that didn't do much. I think to make kids interested, schools should offer a more flexible program by offering resources to help learn a variety of languages, letting the students choose, and have a teacher there to provide additional resources, guidance, and help. I also think sign language should be a choice. I do have to add a bit of a naughty aside and say that one of the things I did look into in my high school Spanish classes were the more "colorful" and not-so-kid friendly words and phrases.