#gàidhlig
Honestly, it’s so annoying when you speak 2 or more languages that use different keyboards and when you type fast you accidentally hit that globe button that switches keyboards and Прости
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the national centre for Gaelic language and culture, recently worked with BBC Alba to produce videos, audio and a website called SpeakGaelic.
There’s videos, an online course, support for tutors, multiple new podcasts, Youtube, various things airing on TV. The actual self-taught online course is only one part of how much this resource has to offer! So here’s some of the things I’ve been looking at.
1. The website itself
https://speakgaelic.scot/all-online-courses/
This is just the whole website: explore at your leisure! At the moment they have finished up to around A2 level, and are working on producing higher level content.
Each topic has a series of 8-10 mini-lessons that are sometimes more duolingo style, and sometimes with videos.
I…actually prefer to use the teaching resources for tutors (linked below) than this course for a few reasons. My main problem is that the vocabulary they present to you is far too fast (in one lesson they might give you 20 words for different Scottish towns), which is fine if you just need to choose the relevant words for where youare from, but in order to pass the quiz to get to the next level you have to get ALL of them right. And Gaelic spelling takes a while to get used to…
There’s also no writing / spelling practice, but to pass the level requires you to write things. Which. Feels counterintuitive! You can learn any level without passing the tests, but it’s annoying because it means your progress isn’t saved to an accurate place. I emailed them about it and got a friendly response back, but this isn’t something they are planning to change.
2. The classroom materials
https://speakgaelic.scot/classroom-materials/
Now THIS is where it gets exciting. These are materials designed in theory for tutors - full lesson plans, worksheets, everything - but they are accessible to learners too. In fact, I think they’re much better than the online course.
Why? Because everything is STRUCTURED. You are given practice, and told what to do, and there are grammatical explanations. (NB: all of these exist in the online course, but not in one handy document for you to look over in one place.)
You have all of the learner content….
…and you ALSO have teacher content:
‘If learners need more time and practice with the vocative case’ > that’s me! And it shows you then exactly what you should do next. Whereas the online course doesn’t have that option for customisation at all. Most of the worksheets are included in the lesson plan, and some are on the main page. Absolute bliss.
3. The SpeakGaelic learner podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6x5b901Zj8ky0UsMM4SzZM?si=00c361fe5ffc4f0d
(If you don’t have Spotify, you can just search ‘SpeakGaelic’)
This is an audio version of the lessons above, and goes into more detail - with information from three different native speakers - into some of the grammar things that the course doesn’t really cover in that much depth. There’s conversations you can listen to, and it’s all targeted at complete beginners. If you listen to any other Gaelic podcasts you’ll recognise the presenter, John Urquhart!
After each episode, there’s also a special episode - scroll down to the bottom - with conversation about different topics relevant to the day’s lesson with two of the presenters. Great for providing extra information!
4. The Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppoHU_ece7o&list=PL_U7jPRkbJZtFegaqKKT8MrZnV7ugwHAG&index=1
Ok, so there’s a LOT of content here. First you have the A1-A2 lessons, around 30 minutes each. Despite what the name suggests, these are notthe same as the audio podcasts. They have Joy (who presents the online course) but they also give some extra video clips and information about cultural things too!
They’re a little slow, but a good supplement to the material given above. As far as I can tell, there are only 13 of this particular series (and 13 for A2) but the YouTube channel SpeakGaelic itself has hundreds of episodes of everything that goes into the online course. All the videos can be found there.
This includes all audio and conversations, as well as snapshots on individual learners and some cultural information.
They also seemingly have started marking some grammar videos! Check out this playlist for more grammar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq9_0ht4L3Y&list=PL_U7jPRkbJZu0uq_6wpzCgZcpddGDU76D
5. The intermediate podcast: Beag air Bheag
https://open.spotify.com/show/34wGOU9sDTE7Vzg0qMexfv?si=314cbbb294b648ec
Once you’re a little further on in your journey (I…can’t understand these yet), there are a few other podcasts on Spotify also by the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. This is one! This is totally in Gaelic, but spoken fairly slowly and designed for intermediate learners.
6. The old site: learngaelic.scot
Check it out! I…actually prefer this site and the way it teaches. It has some bonuses over the old one - good vocabulary sections, plus a really great directory of Gaelic courses online and in person, as well as a dictionary, and so on.
It goes all the way up to B2, so is a better choice if you have more than a little Gaelic.
It’s also a brilliant directory of media in Gaelic - you can watch lots of videos with transcripts in Gaelic with a dictionary, as well as finding native-level material. You can sign up to their newsletter and get weekly Gaelic information too.
It also has links to Speaking Our Language!! Which is an absolutely wonderful resource from the 90s teaching Gaelic one conversation at a time, and also goes up to a fairly high level. These are all updated for The Modern Age: i.e., they all have PDFs and transcripts, as well as links to the grammar points for whatever lesson you’re listening to. Far more advanced than anything the new site currently has.
I might do another post once I’ve explored this website a little more!
7. Bonus: Gaelic with Jason
Finally, one extra! The other main resource I’m using is Gaelic with Jason (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rAE_iLRh4g for example).
He has a whole bunch of free Youtube videos, but I’m actually doing his paid online course - it’s by the best value for money I know from any course, Gaelic or otherwise. If you have the money for it and like immersive learning with a board and just being chatted to, I’d highly recommend you give it a go. He also has loads of Gaelic books for learners, which are wonderful too, and a folktales and traditions course for intermediate learners. Can’t talk about this man enough. (https://gaelicwithjason.thinkific.com)
—
Once again, I’d really encourage you to check out the teaching materials: I personally find them way more useful than the online course for learners specifically. I’m looking at the teaching materials in conjunction with the audio on YouTube and then the podcasts on Spotify.
All the best!
- Melissa
Soooo since I’ve been learning Welsh for a while I thought about making a list to share a few resources to learn Celtic languages! (I’ll keep updating this post!)
Welsh
General information and links: Wikipedia, Omniglot
Online courses:BBC+Big Welsh Challenge,Say Something in Welsh,Learn Welsh Now,Learn Welsh,Surface Languages
Online dictionaries:here,hereandhere
Learning vocabulary: Memrise is a good start, I highly recommend this course.
Course books and dictionaries to buy:Teach Yourself Welsh (also look for the older versions ‘cause some of them are better), Colloquial Welsh,Welsh in Three Months,Basic Welsh,Intermediate Welsh,Cwrs Mynediad(A1),Cwrs Sylfaen(A2),Welsh for Beginners, Modern Welsh Grammar, Modern Welsh Dictionary,
Books for the Welsh learner (beginner to intermediate level):E-Ffrindiau,Bywyd Blodwen Jones,Cant Y Cant
Books in Welsh (translation):Harry Potter,The Very Hungry Caterpillar,Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Welsh books:here’s a website
Other cool stuff:Welsh songs,Welsh mythology in Welsh,BBC Cymru,S4C (Welsh TV),Welsh radio
Irish
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:Duolingo,Bitesize Irish Gaelic (not free), Erin’s Web,some basics on YouTube,Talk Irish (not free)
Online dictionaries:here,hereandhere
Learning vocabulary: Duolingo vocabulary+other
Course books and dictionaries to buy:Gaeilge Gan Stró,Basic Irish,Intermediate Irish,Teach Yourself Irish,Spoken World: Irish,Progress in Irish, Colloquial Irish,Irish for Beginners, Irish Grammar,Irish Dictionary
Books in Irish (translation): The Hobbit,Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,Harry Potter,Around the World in Eighty Days
Irish books:here is a website
Other cool stuff:Irish covers of English songs,Irish TV channel and radio
Scottish Gaelic
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:Gàidhlig air YouTube,BBC,Speaking Our Language, and this list of useful links
Online dictionaries:here,hereandhere
Learning vocabulary:Memrise offers lots of courses
Course books and dictionaries to buy:Teach Yourself Scottish Gaelic,Colloquial Scottish Gaelic,Scottish Gaelic in Three Months,Everyday Gaelic,Gaelic Verbs, Scottish Gaelic Dictionary
Books in Scottish Gaelic:Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Scottish Gaelic Books:here is a website
Breton
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:Loecsen (only basics!),Langoland,Kervaker
Online dictionaries:hereandhere (this one’s French <-> Breton)
Learning vocabulary:Memrise again
Course books and dictionaries to buy:Colloquial Breton,Breton Grammar,Breton Dictionary and Phrase Book – if you know French, there is more: Le breton pour les nuls,Assimil Breton,Parler breton comme un Breton
Breton books:here is a website
Other cool stuff:Breton radio
Cornish
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:Say Something in Cornish,BBC,A Handbook of the Cornish Language,First Grade Course,Second/Third Grade Course,Learn Cornish Now
Online dictionaries:hereandhere (this one’s Welsh <-> Cornish)
Learning vocabulary:Memrise again
Course books and dictionaries to buy:My First Words in Cornish, The Lexicon of Revived Cornish
Other cool stuff:Cornish radio/podcasts
Manx
General Information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses: Learn Manx,A Practical Grammar
Online dictionaries:here
Learning vocabulary:Memrise
Course books and dictionaries to buy:Talk Now! Manx,Manx Dictionary
Other cool stuff: read in Manx,Manx radio,Manx YouTube channel
Cumbric
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:Cumbraek
Gaulish and Modern Gaulish (revived Old Gaulish)
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:The Modern Gaulish Language
Learning vocabulary: Memrise
Galatian
General information and links:Wikipedia
Other cool stuff:Galatian words in Turkish
Lepontic
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:basic information
Other cool stuff: a collection of Lepontic inscriptions,more information
Celtiberian
General information and links:Wikipedia,Omniglot
Online courses:some basics
If you’re learning one of the more “popular” Celtic languages, you can also use lang-8 to practice your writing skills!
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the national centre for Gaelic language and culture, recently worked with BBC Alba to produce videos, audio and a website called SpeakGaelic.
There’s videos, an online course, support for tutors, multiple new podcasts, Youtube, various things airing on TV. The actual self-taught online course is only one part of how much this resource has to offer! So here’s some of the things I’ve been looking at.
1. The website itself
https://speakgaelic.scot/all-online-courses/
This is just the whole website: explore at your leisure! At the moment they have finished up to around A2 level, and are working on producing higher level content.
Each topic has a series of 8-10 mini-lessons that are sometimes more duolingo style, and sometimes with videos.
I…actually prefer to use the teaching resources for tutors (linked below) than this course for a few reasons. My main problem is that the vocabulary they present to you is far too fast (in one lesson they might give you 20 words for different Scottish towns), which is fine if you just need to choose the relevant words for where youare from, but in order to pass the quiz to get to the next level you have to get ALL of them right. And Gaelic spelling takes a while to get used to…
There’s also no writing / spelling practice, but to pass the level requires you to write things. Which. Feels counterintuitive! You can learn any level without passing the tests, but it’s annoying because it means your progress isn’t saved to an accurate place. I emailed them about it and got a friendly response back, but this isn’t something they are planning to change.
2. The classroom materials
https://speakgaelic.scot/classroom-materials/
Now THIS is where it gets exciting. These are materials designed in theory for tutors - full lesson plans, worksheets, everything - but they are accessible to learners too. In fact, I think they’re much better than the online course.
Why? Because everything is STRUCTURED. You are given practice, and told what to do, and there are grammatical explanations. (NB: all of these exist in the online course, but not in one handy document for you to look over in one place.)
You have all of the learner content….
…and you ALSO have teacher content:
‘If learners need more time and practice with the vocative case’ > that’s me! And it shows you then exactly what you should do next. Whereas the online course doesn’t have that option for customisation at all. Most of the worksheets are included in the lesson plan, and some are on the main page. Absolute bliss.
3. The SpeakGaelic learner podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6x5b901Zj8ky0UsMM4SzZM?si=00c361fe5ffc4f0d
(If you don’t have Spotify, you can just search ‘SpeakGaelic’)
This is an audio version of the lessons above, and goes into more detail - with information from three different native speakers - into some of the grammar things that the course doesn’t really cover in that much depth. There’s conversations you can listen to, and it’s all targeted at complete beginners. If you listen to any other Gaelic podcasts you’ll recognise the presenter, John Urquhart!
After each episode, there’s also a special episode - scroll down to the bottom - with conversation about different topics relevant to the day’s lesson with two of the presenters. Great for providing extra information!
4. The Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppoHU_ece7o&list=PL_U7jPRkbJZtFegaqKKT8MrZnV7ugwHAG&index=1
Ok, so there’s a LOT of content here. First you have the A1-A2 lessons, around 30 minutes each. Despite what the name suggests, these are notthe same as the audio podcasts. They have Joy (who presents the online course) but they also give some extra video clips and information about cultural things too!
They’re a little slow, but a good supplement to the material given above. As far as I can tell, there are only 13 of this particular series (and 13 for A2) but the YouTube channel SpeakGaelic itself has hundreds of episodes of everything that goes into the online course. All the videos can be found there.
This includes all audio and conversations, as well as snapshots on individual learners and some cultural information.
They also seemingly have started marking some grammar videos! Check out this playlist for more grammar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq9_0ht4L3Y&list=PL_U7jPRkbJZu0uq_6wpzCgZcpddGDU76D
5. The intermediate podcast: Beag air Bheag
https://open.spotify.com/show/34wGOU9sDTE7Vzg0qMexfv?si=314cbbb294b648ec
Once you’re a little further on in your journey (I…can’t understand these yet), there are a few other podcasts on Spotify also by the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. This is one! This is totally in Gaelic, but spoken fairly slowly and designed for intermediate learners.
6. The old site: learngaelic.scot
Check it out! I…actually prefer this site and the way it teaches. It has some bonuses over the old one - good vocabulary sections, plus a really great directory of Gaelic courses online and in person, as well as a dictionary, and so on.
It goes all the way up to B2, so is a better choice if you have more than a little Gaelic.
It’s also a brilliant directory of media in Gaelic - you can watch lots of videos with transcripts in Gaelic with a dictionary, as well as finding native-level material. You can sign up to their newsletter and get weekly Gaelic information too.
It also has links to Speaking Our Language!! Which is an absolutely wonderful resource from the 90s teaching Gaelic one conversation at a time, and also goes up to a fairly high level. These are all updated for The Modern Age: i.e., they all have PDFs and transcripts, as well as links to the grammar points for whatever lesson you’re listening to. Far more advanced than anything the new site currently has.
I might do another post once I’ve explored this website a little more!
7. Bonus: Gaelic with Jason
Finally, one extra! The other main resource I’m using is Gaelic with Jason (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rAE_iLRh4g for example).
He has a whole bunch of free Youtube videos, but I’m actually doing his paid online course - it’s by the best value for money I know from any course, Gaelic or otherwise. If you have the money for it and like immersive learning with a board and just being chatted to, I’d highly recommend you give it a go. He also has loads of Gaelic books for learners, which are wonderful too, and a folktales and traditions course for intermediate learners. Can’t talk about this man enough. (https://gaelicwithjason.thinkific.com)
—
Once again, I’d really encourage you to check out the teaching materials: I personally find them way more useful than the online course for learners specifically. I’m looking at the teaching materials in conjunction with the audio on YouTube and then the podcasts on Spotify.
All the best!
- Melissa
gaelic: taigh-òsta (hostel)
sometimes, your etymologies,,,are worse
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the national centre for Gaelic language and culture, recently worked with BBC Alba to produce videos, audio and a website called SpeakGaelic.
There’s videos, an online course, support for tutors, multiple new podcasts, Youtube, various things airing on TV. The actual self-taught online course is only one part of how much this resource has to offer! So here’s some of the things I’ve been looking at.
1. The website itself
https://speakgaelic.scot/all-online-courses/
This is just the whole website: explore at your leisure! At the moment they have finished up to around A2 level, and are working on producing higher level content.
Each topic has a series of 8-10 mini-lessons that are sometimes more duolingo style, and sometimes with videos.
I…actually prefer to use the teaching resources for tutors (linked below) than this course for a few reasons. My main problem is that the vocabulary they present to you is far too fast (in one lesson they might give you 20 words for different Scottish towns), which is fine if you just need to choose the relevant words for where youare from, but in order to pass the quiz to get to the next level you have to get ALL of them right. And Gaelic spelling takes a while to get used to…
There’s also no writing / spelling practice, but to pass the level requires you to write things. Which. Feels counterintuitive! You can learn any level without passing the tests, but it’s annoying because it means your progress isn’t saved to an accurate place. I emailed them about it and got a friendly response back, but this isn’t something they are planning to change.
2. The classroom materials
https://speakgaelic.scot/classroom-materials/
Now THIS is where it gets exciting. These are materials designed in theory for tutors - full lesson plans, worksheets, everything - but they are accessible to learners too. In fact, I think they’re much better than the online course.
Why? Because everything is STRUCTURED. You are given practice, and told what to do, and there are grammatical explanations. (NB: all of these exist in the online course, but not in one handy document for you to look over in one place.)
You have all of the learner content….
…and you ALSO have teacher content:
‘If learners need more time and practice with the vocative case’ > that’s me! And it shows you then exactly what you should do next. Whereas the online course doesn’t have that option for customisation at all. Most of the worksheets are included in the lesson plan, and some are on the main page. Absolute bliss.
3. The SpeakGaelic learner podcast
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6x5b901Zj8ky0UsMM4SzZM?si=00c361fe5ffc4f0d
(If you don’t have Spotify, you can just search ‘SpeakGaelic’)
This is an audio version of the lessons above, and goes into more detail - with information from three different native speakers - into some of the grammar things that the course doesn’t really cover in that much depth. There’s conversations you can listen to, and it’s all targeted at complete beginners. If you listen to any other Gaelic podcasts you’ll recognise the presenter, John Urquhart!
After each episode, there’s also a special episode - scroll down to the bottom - with conversation about different topics relevant to the day’s lesson with two of the presenters. Great for providing extra information!
4. The Youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppoHU_ece7o&list=PL_U7jPRkbJZtFegaqKKT8MrZnV7ugwHAG&index=1
Ok, so there’s a LOT of content here. First you have the A1-A2 lessons, around 30 minutes each. Despite what the name suggests, these are notthe same as the audio podcasts. They have Joy (who presents the online course) but they also give some extra video clips and information about cultural things too!
They’re a little slow, but a good supplement to the material given above. As far as I can tell, there are only 13 of this particular series (and 13 for A2) but the YouTube channel SpeakGaelic itself has hundreds of episodes of everything that goes into the online course. All the videos can be found there.
This includes all audio and conversations, as well as snapshots on individual learners and some cultural information.
They also seemingly have started marking some grammar videos! Check out this playlist for more grammar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq9_0ht4L3Y&list=PL_U7jPRkbJZu0uq_6wpzCgZcpddGDU76D
5. The intermediate podcast: Beag air Bheag
https://open.spotify.com/show/34wGOU9sDTE7Vzg0qMexfv?si=314cbbb294b648ec
Once you’re a little further on in your journey (I…can’t understand these yet), there are a few other podcasts on Spotify also by the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. This is one! This is totally in Gaelic, but spoken fairly slowly and designed for intermediate learners.
6. The old site: learngaelic.scot
Check it out! I…actually prefer this site and the way it teaches. It has some bonuses over the old one - good vocabulary sections, plus a really great directory of Gaelic courses online and in person, as well as a dictionary, and so on.
It goes all the way up to B2, so is a better choice if you have more than a little Gaelic.
It’s also a brilliant directory of media in Gaelic - you can watch lots of videos with transcripts in Gaelic with a dictionary, as well as finding native-level material. You can sign up to their newsletter and get weekly Gaelic information too.
It also has links to Speaking Our Language!! Which is an absolutely wonderful resource from the 90s teaching Gaelic one conversation at a time, and also goes up to a fairly high level. These are all updated for The Modern Age: i.e., they all have PDFs and transcripts, as well as links to the grammar points for whatever lesson you’re listening to. Far more advanced than anything the new site currently has.
I might do another post once I’ve explored this website a little more!
7. Bonus: Gaelic with Jason
Finally, one extra! The other main resource I’m using is Gaelic with Jason (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rAE_iLRh4g for example).
He has a whole bunch of free Youtube videos, but I’m actually doing his paid online course - it’s by the best value for money I know from any course, Gaelic or otherwise. If you have the money for it and like immersive learning with a board and just being chatted to, I’d highly recommend you give it a go. He also has loads of Gaelic books for learners, which are wonderful too, and a folktales and traditions course for intermediate learners. Can’t talk about this man enough. (https://gaelicwithjason.thinkific.com)
—
Once again, I’d really encourage you to check out the teaching materials: I personally find them way more useful than the online course for learners specifically. I’m looking at the teaching materials in conjunction with the audio on YouTube and then the podcasts on Spotify.
All the best!
- Melissa