Yes! Technology helps with Irish pronunciation!

I finally decided I was stuck in my attempt to learn Irish.  I had been studying Irish on my favorite online language learning platform, Duolingo, for longer than I care to remember.  Irish vocabulary and grammar points were starting to make sense, but the pronunciation remained elusive.  A new book, Speak Irish Now, and a short course on Irish sounds on Udemy only convinced me that I could never hope to match Irish sounds to written words. 

Then I was flicking through my cell phone one day when FutureLearn popped up, offering a free three-week course in beginning Irish from Dublin City College. 

Hope springs eternal in the human heart.  I signed up immediately.

The course has a friendly, modern feel to the user and is easy to navigate.  At first the technology was a little daunting to me, not being a digital native (or adept at much in the digital world). 

For the first video I attempted to watch, the sound wouldn't play.  A cheerful and helpful response from support at FutureLearn pointed out a slider button that can be moved to turn sound on and off.  Ah, I could now hear those Irish speakers greeting each other.  Did they really have to speak so fast?  But the written transcript and ability to replay the video various times helped with comprehension.  

One of my favorite activities in the course is listening to a speaker pronounce Irish sentences and phrases in slow, comprehensible language while reading words written on the screen.  And the speaker will repeat untiringly so that I can match sounds to letters.  

Another feature that I enjoy is taking the brief online quizzes over a small amount of new material by listening to a sentence and selecting the word that fits in the sentence from multiple answers. 

Capture from FutureLearn.com

And if I make a mistake, I have a chance to review the material and correct my answer.  All very civilized!

One element that I have hesitated to employ, and which the course encourages, is connecting with other learners.  I can see the benefit of feeling like you are part of a learning community. Also having an opportunity to use Irish for real life communication is exciting.  But with my introverted personality, it may take me a while to warm up to that idea. 

Technology is used not only for listening exercises but also to present brief articles, cultural information, short grammar explanations, and suggestions for additional resources.  As much as I like books, sitting down at my laptop and doing a few Irish lessons is, I must admit, very entertaining.  I have learned the alphabet, vowel sounds, greetings, exchanging names, and leave taking.

I know language learning enthusiasm often wanes after the first flush of getting a peek at a new language. The next lesson is about lenition, a phonological process much used in Irish by which consonant sounds are modified.  

Here's hoping I feel as positive about Irish learning after Week Two!