Sentence Structure and Overall Progress

Hello everyone. I'm fairly new to the forum but I've been learning Irish for almost a year now using various resources. As time goes on, I must admit that I'm getting less and less satisfied with my progress. I've learned a great deal of vocabulary such as names of family members, colors, numbers, food and drink items, names of things around town, vehicles, etc., and simple phrases but I still feel that I'm nowhere near being able to hold a conversation or even string a sentence together. After a year of study, I still on understand about 1 out of every 30 words when listening to Raidió na Gaeltachta or Raidió Failte. If anyone has any suggested resources or methods for learning the conversational side for both speaking and understanding, I'd greatly appreciate the input.

Here is a list of the resources I've been using:

- Rosetta Stone Irish Level 1
- Colloquial Irish (book & CD set)
- Teach Yourself Irish (book & CD set)
- Lonely Planet European Phrasebook (Irish Section)
- EasyIrish.com podcast
- One Minute Irish podcast
- Pimsleur Irish
- Raidió na Gaeltachta radio station
- TG4 Television station
- Byki Irish (iPhone application)
- uTalk Irish (iPhone application)
- Cúla Caint (iPhone application)
- Speak Irish (iPhone application)
- Enjoy Irish (iPhone application)
- Collins Pocket Irish Dictionary

- I've also recently bought the book titled "Trioblóid" by Le Colmán Ó Drisceoi with the accompanying CD audio book format with the hopes of reading and hearing for comprehension.

Thanks again.

You've been busy! I wouldn't worry that you still can't pick up much of the conversation on Raidió na Gaeltachta or on Raidió Fáilte. You will probably find that it all suddenly clicks into place after a year and a half and that suddenly you start to understand more. One thing you might find useful is to save a couple of typical programmes onto an mp3 player and listen to those sample programmes again and again, looking up a few words each time until the whole thing makes sense. Then when you go online you might find that you recognise structures and words from those programmes. But you do need both. You need to listen to unstructured discourse which is beyond your level, just to get used to the sound and intonation of the language, and also to something which is more structured and which helps to build up your vocabulary. If you have any grammar questions, we're here! Fáilte isteach!

 

Hey Maxtro I have to agree with Seano, I have had to learn Portuguese and I felt just like you but I was luck enough to live in a country where I heard it spoken everyday and with this it still took a good year to pick up! But we it does click in you will suprised just how much you do know. 

Stick with it brother and keep your chin up!

 

David

Haha , sorry for the spelling mistakes I didn't proof read my last post

Thanks for the tips everyone. I have my days when I'm really motivated and other when I'm not as motivated but I still make an effort to do something in Irish even if it's just watching a hour hour program or listening to the radio. One documentary I watched that not only very motivating but quite entertaining is the one called "In the Name of the Fada." It's the story of Des Bishop, a guy who was born in New York City and moved to Ireland as a teenager, and therefore was exempt from learning Irish in school. Now he's an adult still living in Ireland and working as a comedian. The documentary is all about him moving to and living in the Connemara Gaeltacht with the goal of learning Irish in a year. It can be found by searching the title on youtube. Watching things like this, I feel, help to boost motivation. Has anyone else seen this documentary?

I watched - and really enjoyed In the Name of the Fada. I got it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DES-BISHOP-THE-NAME-FADA/dp/B001MY9YBO

I'm jealous of how uninhibited Des is about just giving speaking a go - I'm really nervous about my pronunciation (and that's even after a native speaker told me I had great pronunciation). I want to start a learner blog on talkirish.com but never seem to get time.

Haigh! Yes, In The Name of the Fada is very good. We have it on DVD. There are a few short films in Iriish on YouTube, things like Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom and Clare sa Spéir. These are also worth checking out. I think elsewhere we went through the best ways of learning languages but there's no harm in going through it again in brief. The mistake nearly everyone makes is to set aside an hour a week or two hours a week to do some formal study. This really isn't the best way to do it. A little and often is best, and really the process of learning should be integrated into your day as much as possible. If you have a car journey in the morning, have some language CDs in the car. If you have a bus journey, make sure you've got an MP3 player with you. Carry a notebook. If you come across a word, note it down and look it up later. You'll be amazed how quickly you hear these words again - but this time you'll understand them! Try walking around the house and thinking of the words you do know - cathaoir, tolg, teilifís, solas. Then if there are any useful words you don't know, look them up! Do the same in the area, or in the supermarket. Try making shopping lists in Irish! Imagine holding a conversation with someone. What kind of things can you say to them? Never run before you can walk. Try to build on what you know, adding to you knowledge bit by bit. Don't get a complicated sentence and try to translate it using a pile of grammar books and dictionaries. Chances are it won't be right but if you make a sentence which is nearly the same as one you know from your studies but differs in one or two words, there's a good chance it will be right! And above all, have faith in your own ability and never stop chipping away at your ignorance of the language. If you keep working at it, even things that seem impossibly difficult will one day be second nature to you. 

I memorize phrases and sentences. That gives me vocabulary, sentence structure, and different verb conjugations all at once without having to form sentences from scratch. Then I can edit the sentences to fit new vocabulary I learn. And it gives me a basis to begin basic conversations.