Buntús Cainte - Lessons 1-20

Here's a short guide to what's covered in lessons 1-20 of the Buntús Cainte MP3 and online course.

You'll find our online course here:

Lesson One - Talking about the weather

The weather is often a topic of conversation in Ireland. Probably because we usually have 5 different types of weather before breakfast!

In lesson one you’ll learn how to use basic adjectives like hot and cold and the phrase it is to comment on the weather.

ROLEPLAY

At the end of the lesson you'll hear a roleplay between Nóra and her friend Cáit and find out what they think of the weather today...

Lesson Two – Still talking about the weather

We really can’t say enough about the weather! This lesson expands on the vocabulary you learnt in Lesson 1 so you can talk at greater length about what’s going on outside!

You’ll learn more basic adjectives like good and bad and the phrase it is not to comment on the weather.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and her friend Cáit and see if the weather has improved any today...

Lesson Three - Describing physical characteristics

In this lesson you’ll learn adjectives that describe the physical characteristics of people, whether they're tall or small, young or old, or well or sick.  

You’ll also learn the phrases he is and he is not so that you can put sentences together and join in the gossip when it starts!

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and her friend Cáit and find out what has happened to Seán...

Lesson Four – More physical characteristics

In this lesson you’ll learn more adjectives that describe people, whether they're strong or weak, fat or thin.  

You’ll learn the phrases I am and I am not so you can describe yourself, as well as you are and you are not, so you can describe others.

ROLEPLAY

Test your vocabulary by listening to a roleplay with Nóra chatting to her neighbour Séamas who is rather peculiarly dressed...

Lesson Five – Where is she?

In this lesson you'll learn common words that describe location such as here, there, inside, outside, above and below.  Then you'll accompany a nice young man who's on the lookout for love!

You’ll learn how to say she is and she is not, as well as how to ask questions such as is she?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a chat between Nóra and Seán and find out where  Máire has got to...

Lesson Six – Where are they?

In this lesson we'll try to find more people.  They all seem to have gone missing!

You'll learn words to describe different kinds of people; man, woman, boy, girl, mammy and daddy.  Then you'll learn the words to ask where are they?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Pádraig and Máire and find out where  everyone has disappeared to...

Lesson Seven – Describing locations

In this lesson you'll learn how to describe location, so if you are looking for someone you'll be able to find out where they are, whether they're at home, in the kitchen, in the bed or in the school. 

You'll put these new words together with the verbs you've already learned to make sentences. 

ROLEPLAY

Séamas has dropped into the house looking for Pádraig and Nóra, but he may get more than he bargained for...

Lesson Eight – Forms of transport

In this lesson you'll learn how talk about different types of transportation.  Whether you're travelling by plane, train or automobile, these are the words you'll need to know if you are travelling in Ireland. 

You'll also learn generic words to describe people and things: words like anyone and anything always come in useful.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation at the station where Seán and Máire are waiting for their father to get off the train.  But what on earth has happened to Nóra and the car?

Lesson Nine – The Garda

In Irish the word for police officer is garda, and in Southern Ireland this is what everyone calls a police officer, even if they don't speak Irish!  So this word will definitely come in very handy. 

As well as learning the words for policeman and teacher, in this lesson we'll also learn additional words to describe locations, like at the chapel and at the shop.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Pádraig and Seán and find out why Seán is on his own in the house...

Lesson Ten – Food glorious food!

Mmmm, delicious food.  It's always good to know the words to describe meals, especially if you're getting peckish! 

In this lesson you'll learn words to describe meals eaten at different times of the day, such as breakfast or lunch.

ROLEPLAY

Pádraig has arrived at the school with a message for his children but he finds Seán alone in the playground.  Where has everyone gone?

Lesson Eleven – Who is that?

If you are inquisitive like the people in this lesson you'll definitely want to know the word for who? as well as who is?  Then you can get as nosey as you like and ask all sorts of questions about other people.

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and Seán for you to test your knowledge.  Has Seán deserted his post as babysitter?

Lesson Twelve – Food basics

In this lesson you'll learn the words to describe different kinds of food staples, like bread, butter, milk and tea.  Then you'll be able to ask for what you want at the dinner table.

ROLEPLAY

Can Máire set the table to Nóra's satisfaction?

Lesson Thirteen – On the...

In this lesson you'll learn the word for on so that you can describe different kinds of situations, such as on the bus, on the road or on the aeroplane. You'll be able to ask where people are with the words for isn't he? and aren't they?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Seán and Nóra and find out what unusual use Seán has found for the newspaper...

Lesson Fourteen – More verbs!

In this lesson you'll learn new verbs to describe actions, such as dancing, talking, working and learning.  You'll then be able to put them into sentences to describe the actions of other people.

ROLEPLAY

Find out why Máire is late home from school...

Lesson Fifteen – Cutlery and Crockery

In this lesson you'll learn words to describe the cutlery and crockery in your home, whether it is a knife, fork and spoon, or a plate, cup and saucer. 

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation with Seán and Máire about table manners.  Can they behave themselves and gain Nóra's approval?

Lesson Sixteen – And even more verbs!

In this lesson you'll learn new verbs to describe actions, such as eating, drinking, running and playing.  You'll also learn how to use these verbs when talking about the past, by learning how to say he was and they were.

ROLEPLAY

Nóra is waiting for  Seán to arrive home so she can serve the dinners together.  Where is he and what has he been doing?

Lesson Seventeen – More than one

In this lesson you'll learn how to describe people in the plural.  You'll be able to talk about the boys, the girls, the children and the teachers.  You'll also learn how talk about negatives by learning the words for he wasn't and they weren't.

ROLEPLAY

Seán has some exciting news about his day at school...what could it be?

Lesson Eighteen – In a...

In this lesson you'll learn the word for in so that you'll be able to describe different kinds of situations, such as in a bus, in a train or in an aeroplane. You'll be able to put together questions asking where people are with the words for wasn't he? and weren't they?

ROLEPLAY

Seán has just been to the shop to buy food, but Nóra wants to hear whether her friend Cáit the shopkeeper has got over her recent illness.  Will Seán have good news for her?

Lesson Nineteen – Animals

In this lesson you'll learn the words for different animals, such as cat, dog, cow and sheep.  You'll also learn the words for there and how to ask where was he?

ROLEPLAY

Find out why Máire is so late back from the shop...

Lesson Twenty – Numbers and telling the time

In this lesson you'll learn how to count numbers from 1 to 6 and how to tell the time.  You'll also learn the words for clock and how to ask what time is it?

ROLEPLAY

Listen to a conversation between Nóra and Pádraig and find out why Nóra is so annoyed...

Hello.

I still have Buntus Cainte from many years ago.  A friend gave the books to me back in the 1970's while I was in Ireland, and later i bought the cassette tapes.  Is there something in the forum to help facilitate the learning process?  I know I probably just need to study more, and review more consistently....

Dale D

A Dale, a cara,

Here is something I've started doing: Each time a new word is introduced, I look at the picture, of course, and listen to the word. Once the computer is silent, I keep looking at the picture and saying the word out loud myself. Nothing special about that, eh?

But next, I use my mouse to get the cursor over the repeat symbol. Once there, I SHUT MY EYES and click the repeat symbol.  While the computer is saying the word, I try to visualize the picture. 

This gives you practice hearing the word and activating the part of your brain where the concept is stored in your brain. It partially bypasses the part of your brain that thinks of the english word and jumps to the concept.

You can alternate between looking and not looking as much as you want. You can repeat the word with your eyes shut. This helps you bridge the gap between seeing the concept and thinking of the concept when you hear the word. And the beauty of the Buntus Cainte program is that it has infinite patience.

Later you can try the same thing with spelling the word.  Spell it out loud or write it on paper with the word displayed in front of you. Then do the same with your eyes shut! Don't worry about how the paper looks later, you just want to drill the letter sequences in the part of the brain which leads to motor action.

I hope this helps.

Ruarí

Wow... i just tried your shared link as i am interested in Irish....

The tutorials are really amazing  but i am having trouble with the pronunciation and spelling. Any suggestion will be appreciated.

I assume you are listening to the pronunciations of the sounds in the lessons and in the daily emails.

To round it out, go to TG4 ( http://www.tg4.ie/en/tg4-player/tg4-player.html ) and watch some shows in Irish. That will give you a feel for the language.

On TG4, they go too fast to be an effective learning tool, though. A compromise format which contain some limited language you can listen to over and over are short films or videos. I have a short list here:

http://shamrockroad.blogspot.com/2011/09/irish-short-films.html

On the spelling side, I assume it's like English, read a lot and it will come. Of course, you can use the "broad with broad agus short with short" rule to help you some. The broad vowels are: a, o, agus (and) u, and the short vowels are: e agus i. Almost every consonant in Irish is surrounded by either broad or short vowels. Once you get a vowel on one side of a consonant, your options on the other side are limited, eh?

I am still learning the spelling myself. I think that learning goes on as long as you are learning new words, so be patient with yourself!

Ruairí (Rod)

http://shamrockroad.blogspot.com/

Hi Michelle,

I have been enjoying the Online Course, which I subscribed to  a little while ago. The monthly fee is charged to my credit card. However, Today, after logging in, I click "online course" and I only get the offer to subscirbe to the online course. I cant get to the course lessons. How do I get this resolved?

Thanks,

Mary Dugan

Hi Mary, I've sent you an email - hopefully we can get your access up and running again very soon. Beir bua! 

Hi Michelle,

I have been enjoying the Online Course, which I subscribed to a few months ago. Payment is charged to my credit card. Last week, I was no longer able to access it from TalkIrish.com.  I am concerned about the reliabiltiy of the payment process. How do I find information on the Online Course on how to cancel my subscrition.  I've put notes in the contact options , Finding my way around the site gets a bit confusing at times. 

I'd greatly appreciate your quick response.

Mary Dugan

Hi Michelle,

 I apologize for sending the second email.  I just now found my way to your response here.  Go raibh maith agat.

Mary

Hi Mary,

I'm glad you got my email and are able to work with PayPal to get your payments sorted. We use PayPal because they are secure, they offer you total payment protections, and you are in charge of your subscription at all times. Drop me an email anytime you need more info on payments - and make sure you post your learner questions here on the website!

Beir bua,
Michelle 

Michelle, I was looking at going through the online course but am not sure if it is based on the Ulster dialect. I am from Co. Down and now live in Canada but I really want to learn the basics of Irish to have a basic conversation, listen to Radio Failte or follow along some TG4, etc.. On my next trip home I am planning on going through the Belfast gaeltacht or even heading over to Gweedore. What are you thoughts on starting out?

My pleasure to see this guide, this one will do help.