Positive Memories of Learning Irish: Perspectives from People who have Achieved High Levels of Proficiency
ABSTRACT
This article explores the positive memories in relation to learning Irish from a sample of the population who report high proficiency in Irish (n=88). One of the goals of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish language (2010–2030) is to acknowledge good practice and the positive experiences of Irish learners in the classroom. Although much research on the learning of Irish reveals that negative experiences are often associated with the learning process, few studies have explicitly sought to identify positive memories, especially from those who have achieved high levels of competence in the language. Apart from the description of positive experiences of learning Irish in school that are available in the memoirs of some writers, especially those in Gaeltacht schools, or in the study of Irish-language mudes i.e. learning highlights reported by learners (Walsh and O’Rourke 2015), little empirical data is available regarding positive aspects of the learning of Irish. Language planning is necessarily a recursive process and we continually look back to look forward. There is over a century of experience of formally teaching Irish in the education system but many of the innovative teaching methods in the early periods of the teaching of Irish, as well as good practice that takes place currently, have received scant attention. This article presents a collection of positive memories of learning Irish that may support the attainment of a high level of proficiency, so that we can reflect on how they may be incorporated into the planning of learning experiences in the future. In the context of the importance of the education system in promoting Irish, there is a need to consciously remember positive aspects of the learning experience, and to include enjoyable and effective learning experiences, so that we can continuously nurture positive attitudes amongst learners.
The authors are grateful to An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta for supporting this research project.
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COMHARTaighde is an open access, peer-reviewed scholarly journal in the field of Irish language and literature studies. The full text of the article described on this page is available in the Irish language only. English-language translations of article titles, abstracts and certain metadata are provided in order to enable international scholars to discover research published in COMHARTaighde and to facilitate the indexing of articles in certain academic databases.
