Author: sophiechorek

I have recently returned to the United States after finishing the immersion program I attended and I am very content with the experience I had. At first, it was difficult to adjusting to being in a different country away from my family. But by the end of the program, I gained a lot of confidence in my ability to speak as well as my speed in speaking the language. I think this was due to just being able to speak the language all day to people who had a similar speaking level of it as me. I do still have much to improve which I hope to do in the upcoming semester in my next Irish language class. 

And in further reflecting on my experience, I reread my very first blog post and found interesting comparisons in what I thought I would experience and what I actually did. One of my expectations was that I would be fully immersed in the language inside and outside of the classroom, which ended up not being the case for outside of the classroom. Though I was speaking Irish for the most part with my peers, it was difficult speaking it with locals because sometimes they did not have a good grasp on the language, so it was difficult discerning when to use it with someone and when not to. Another expectation I had was that I would learn more about the culture of Ireland and also grow into a more independent person while abroad, which I definitely think both happened. I believe that this experience really helped me mature and be more confident when living in an unfamiliar environment. Overall, I am incredibly grateful that I was able to attend the immersion program and I am overjoyed to study abroad in Ireland again in the spring semester. 

During this last week in An Cheathrú Rua, there has been a big focus on the tradition of Irish music. On Monday and Wednesday, we had a ceardlann amhránaíochta (singing workshop) where we learned how to sing a few songs in Irish. As someone who enjoys singing, I loved the workshops. I found it to be so interesting how we had no sheet music and only the lyrics so we had to match to the pitch of the instructor. The songs were so fun to sing and it was also interesting to learn about the story behind them. Some of the songs that I enjoyed singing the most were “Óró, sé do bheatha abhaile,” “Ú Conamara,” and “Báidín Fheilimí.”

On our last night of the program, we had a final concert where a group played music, showed us a bit of sean-nós dancing, and we even got to sing one of the songs we had learned at the workshops. Dancing is another thing that we were taught a bit about at least in the beginning of the course. During the first week, we got to participate in a céilí which was incredibly fun! 

Being here has made me realize how important music is to the Irish culture, especially since there were always ceol traidisiúnta (traditional music) sessions happening at least once a week. It was always a way to bring people together which I definitely felt. The music here is something I will always remember about my trip here to Ireland.

After being in An Cheathrú Rua for about a week, it has been interesting noticing the differences compared to being in Gaoth Dobhair. One such difference is the change in dialects. I have found it much easier to understand the Connemara dialect here compared to the Ulster dialect in Gaoth Dobhair since my professor at Notre Dame uses the Connemara dialect. I have also noticed that I am hearing more English here and seeing more tourists in comparison to Gaoth Dobhair, however, this might also just be because it is easier to travel around here and go out more. But the presence of English in the Gaeltacht does pose a threat to the language as I have learned since being here. 

Just yesterday I was told that some Irish-speakers here are weary of only English-speaking families moving into the area because it will lead to more children using English only in schools to accommodate those who do not know Irish. Our teacher in this region has also told us a bit about the lack of services in Irish such as medical services even though the language has official status in the country and it is even required to be learned in schools. Issues like these certainly do not help in protecting the language. 

But despite these issues, there are still many people coming to the Gaeltacht to learn the language. During this past week, there was a large group of young students here learning Irish, so there is still hope in the language growing more each day. 

After spending around two weeks in Gaoth Dobhair, something that has stood out to me has been the food and drinks that are common here. One particular thing is tea and how common it is. During our class breaks, we would go to the canteen and there would always be tea or coffee ready to have with cookies. I found it really interesting how this was different compared to American schools since normally they would not offer something like that. 

Another interesting thing that I have noticed about the food has been the amount of potatoes that we are given with meals. For one meal, we had three different types of potatoes prepared, which is more than I have had in one sitting. But it was all very tasty! I assume that potatoes are just consumed a lot here because its easily accessible as well as tied with the tradition and history of the area. It was also just interesting to see how similar a lot of the meals are here with what I usually eat in the United States. I have also been learning more vocabulary for different foods in Irish with meals from my fellow classmates and our Bean an Tí. Having meals together has been a great way to practice conversing and sharing different vocabularies with each other. 

Though I have left Gaoth Dobhair now, I am sure the food will be just as great in An Cheathrú Rua!

Since first arriving in Gaoth Dobhair, Ireland, there have been quite a few phrases and terms that I have either been reminded of or had never heard of before coming here. One term I have heard quite a bit is “craic.” I have noticed that this term tends to be used by a wide variety of people and it generally means something along the lines of “fun.” People use it in both Irish and English sentences here. An example sentence in English would be “it was good craic” and an example sentence in Irish would be “bhí craic agam,” meaning “I had fun.” While I will use this term when speaking Irish, it is probably not something I would use when speaking English given that it can get easily confused with others English words that sound very similar. It has been incredibly interesting to hear words such as this used in the daily lives of native speakers and it puts it into a better context compared to just hearing it in the classroom.

Another term/phrase that I have heard being used is “sin é,” which means “that’s it.” Based on the context I have heard it being used in, I assume it is used as an acknowledgement, similar to how a lot of English speakers have used the term “yeah” as a form of acknowledgement. It makes sense that in Irish it would be a word other than something relating to “yes” since there is no actual word that directly translates to “yes” in Irish. This term is probably something I will try to tie into when I speak Irish because it is something that native speakers use more in daily speech. 

I’m hoping that by the end of this class, I will have many more words and phrases to tie into when conversing in Irish.

Hello to anyone reading! I will be attending the Irish language summer immersion program offered through NUIG from July 15th to August 12th. I am so excited to get to finally attend the program this summer! After the program was canceled last summer due to the pandemic, I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to finally be able to go. I think that this immersive experience will greatly benefit my learning of the Irish language. 

I expect this immersive experience to be incredibly different from the normal classroom setting that I have been learning Irish in so far. I will be fully immersed in the language both inside and outside of the classroom, whereas at Notre Dame, I am only ever immersed in the language inside the classroom which is not much. While at this program, I intend to learn more about the culture of Ireland through the Irish language and also become more competent in the Irish language, enough so that I will not struggle as much when having a conversation in Irish. I also hope to grow into a more independent person while abroad since this will be my first time traveling outside of the country without my family. Although I am nervous for this experience as I am sure many tend to be when first traveling across the ocean alone, I am also hopeful that this will be a great experience, and I am super excited for it!