Comedian helps students to tune up their Gaelige with new website

Learning Irish has been made all the more easier for internet-savvy students thanks to an initiative spearheaded by Des Bishop and the Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe.

The comedian and Minister O’Keeffe were in Coláiste Choilm yesterday to launch Abair Leat!, a new interactive website which will help in the learning of spoken Irish in post-primary schools.

Students can use the website to listen to native Irish speakers, record their own material in Irish and undertake self-correcting exercises.

Teachers can assess students’ work on the website and give spoken feedback online or written feedback by email.

The pilot phase of Abair Leat! will be rolled out in 14 schools initially including Coláiste Choilm.

At the launch, Minister O’Keeffe said: “The website encourages independent learning by allowing students to practice their oral Irish at home and in the classroom and it gives teachers the opportunity to assess them online.”

Des Bishop, whose award-winning documentary In The Name Of The Fáda was based on his year learning Irish in the Connemara Gaeltacht, said he wanted to continue to work with Minister O’Keeffe to get more young people speaking Irish.

“Abair Leat! is an important step in our ongoing efforts to make the learning and teaching of Irish more enjoyable,” he said.

For more see www.abairleat.com.

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.