Cúrsa Tumoideachais sa Ghaeilge Irish Language Immersion Course
Butte, Montana
July 17 24, 2010
Immersion Camps: The first immersion camps in Irish language and culture were organized in the Gaeltachtaí (Irish-speaking districts) of Ireland in 1901 and quickly became a corner-stone in the movement to preserve Ireland's ancient Gaelic culture. It was here that students encountered the l iving culture, learned the language, the music and dance and returned home to share their learning and experience within their own communities. The importance of these camps in saving the culture from extinction is undeniable. The course offered in Butte again this summer is designed to give students the same experience, with the hope that they, in turn, will help in the movement here in the United States to preserve and promote their ancestral culture.
Location : The course will be offered at Montana Tech, in Butte. Butte was the entry-point for the majority of the Irish in the state. It was a town built by the Irish, for the Irish and has a distinct Irish flavor to it.
Curriculum : The course offers both credit [two credits] and non-credit courses and is open to all who wish to learn the Irish language. The accredited courses are for beginners only. The main objective is to impart a conversational knowledge of the Irish language. Classes begin at 9:00am and continue until 5:00pm in the afternoon. There are lengthy breaks between classes so students can work together and study the material covered in each class. There will be a Céilí on the first, third and final evening of the course so students can interact, learn simple Irish dance steps and practice the language. The other nights are free for students to use as they wish, although they might like to join in some of the social activities on offer. These include talks on Irish history and literature, visits of local sites of interest and tours of the old town of Butte. All classes are taught by professional teachers with the aid of Irish language teaching assistants from The University of Montana [UM] Irish Studies program. These young s tudents have been learning Irish and how to teach the language as part of their course at UM.
Accommodation : For those coming from out-of-state there is room and board available in Butte on the Montana Technical College campus. To view the facilities, please go to www.mtech.edu . Arrangements can also be made to pick you up from the airport in Butte by contacting me at erin@irishmontana.com with your name, flight number and time of arrival.
Registration : If you wish to participate, please print/download the form below and then mail the completed form with payment to: IrishMontana, 1317 Harrison St., Missoula, MT 59802. Please make checks out to The Friends of Irish Studies.
Since space is limited, we urge you to make your plans and reservations as soon as possible.
Cancellations must be made a minimum of two weeks in advance of July 3, 2010 and there is a non-refundable deposit of $125.
Please fill out this PDF Registration Form and send it to the following address with payment:
Erin Ó Ríordáin
1317 Harrison St.
Missoula MT 59802
SYLLABUS :
Butte Immersion Course Syllabus July 17-24, 2010
The primary objective of this course is to provide students with the foundational knowledge necessary to acquire the highest standards of fluency in written and spoken Irish. This objective is attained through the application of a scientific methodology of language instruction known as An Modh Díreach , a system of instruction specifically designed to impart a spoken knowledge of Irish to students. This approach stresses a number of key principles:
1. Mastery of the phonetics of Irish to ensure proper enunciation
2. Emphasis on developing the student's aural faculties in attaining command of Irish
3. Instruction on the techniques and proven strategies for learning Irish as employed in the most reputable language-learning institutes in Ireland
4. As the purpose of language is communication, each student is assigned a study buddy with whom to work on the oral material and, thus, begin conversation in the language.
This introductory course will give students a command of the phonetics of Irish; will acquaint them with the proper usage of the two verbs to be;' prepositional pronouns, initial mutations, and other linguistic features peculiar to Irish. Grammatical explication is reinforced through the employment of songs and poems as well as conversational pieces that illustrate the proper usage of each particular aspect of language. The lessons and resources are thematically arranged to form an integrated program that ensures that by the end of semester each student is capable of using the past, present and future tenses of the verb to be to speak on such topics as weather, food, clothing, physical appearance, abilities, nationality, country of origin, feelings, family, residence and other pertinent personal information.
This course will be taught as part of a week-long immersion program that will be held in Butte this summer. This is the second year that such a program will be offered in Butte , and the first time that it will be offered for credit. Classes begin each day at 9am and conclude at 5pm; evening activities, beginning at 7pm, are optional and include Irish traditional dance; lectures on Irish culture and literature; historical presentations on Irish American history and tours of Butte . Each class of instruction is an hour in duration followed by a half-hour of student practice and review of the material.
Assessment is conducted on a continuous basis. After the first day of class, the students are assigned different objectives relating to each class as home work. A class quiz is held the following day to determine the progress of the student. These quizzes test aural and oral skills as well student success in learning the pertinent vocabulary.
The course material is based on the Beginning Irish I course taught at The University of Montana. All the material relevant to the course is handed out in a course packet.
LESSON PLAN
Day 1 - Sunday.
1. The Irish phonetic system: an introduction to long and short vowels.
2. Basic introductions and greetings in Irish
3. Poems: Tá Capall ag Seáinín; Bhí Capall ag Seáinín
4. Pronouns: regular and emphatic.
5. Vocabulary: greetings and introductions
Day 2 - Monday.
1. Class tests Aural, Oral and written examination of material covered in Day 1
2. Pronunciation guide: diphthongs.
3. Introducing the two verbs to be' IS and TÁ
4. Poems in past, present and future tenses: Bhí/Tá/Beidh Capall ag Seáinín
5. Pronouns and prepositional pronouns: Agam; Orm; Liom; Dom
6. Vocabulary: weather and adjectives
Day 3 - Tuesday.
1. Class Tests
2. Pronunciation Guide: Vowel combinations and Digraphs
3. Poems in past, present and future tenses: Bhí/Tá/Beidh Capall ag Seáinín
4. Vocabulary: terms relating to family and feelings.
5. Pronouns: Using prepositional pronouns Agam and Orm to express possession and feelings.
6. Conversation: greetings; talking about the weather in past, present and future tenses; telling who you are; where you are from; family you have; and how you feel.
Day 4 - Wednesday.
1. Class Tests
2. Pronunciation Guide: Broad and slender consonants
3. Poems: Tá Gaeilge ag an Éireannach using the verb to be tá and the preposition ag' to express ability.
4. Vocabulary: Food and languages
5. Pronouns: Using the pronoun Le to express taste and ownership
6. Conversation: Using the verb to be in past, present and future tenses to talk about the food you like, where you eat, when you eat, what you have for breakfast, dinner, and lunch; Using the verb Is' and the preposition Le' to tell what you like; using the verb tá' and the pronoun ag' to tell what languages you speak and what skills you have.
Day 5 - Thursday
1. Class Tests
2. Pronunciation Guide: Initial mutations Aspiration
3. Poem: Bíonn Brón orm introduction to the habitual present tense.
4. Vocabulary: Colours; clothes and pastimes
5. Verbs: using the past, present and future tense of the verb to be to talk about yourself, your feelings, your family, the weather, the food you like, the colours you like, your clothes and pastimes.
6. Pronouns: revision of the pronouns and the prepositional pronouns Ag; Ar; Le and Do.
Day 6 - Friday.
1. Class Tests.
2. Pronunciation Guide: Initial mutations eclipses
3. Revision: Pronouns and prepositional pronouns; verb to be tá past, present and future tenses;
4. Verbs: using in the verb Is' to classify and identify.
5. Vocabulary: simple adjectives relating to physical and character traits
6. Conversation general conversation bringing all the material covered together
Day 7 - Saturday.
1. Final examination: A class presentation in which the student will give a personal account using the language learned over the course of the week. |
