Child wants to learn Irish

[Wristfolds]

My DD is 8 and has Irish grandparents (resident in England) on her dad’s side (no one in the family speaks any Irish, though her older cousins have some basic Irish from school)

We live in the midlands and don’t encounter much Irish day to day.

For brownies she did Irish as her language badge and was v proud of herself. She’s since done a Duolingo style app to learn more. Quite impressed how far she’s got very much solo with tricky to find resources.

She has a maths tutor, I was wondering about getting her an Irish one over the summer. I think learning a language would be a huge confidence boost. My only reservation is I guess I’d have preferred French/Spanish/German (ie one she’ll encounter in secondary school)

In your opinion, should I be led by her and go with Irish or try to encourage her to learn a more mainstream language?

Totally aware Irish is an important facet of a rich culture, that is not my point here: if I’m spending money on a tutor is any language a good language or should I be thinking ahead to more practical applications in your bog standard English secondary school (though aware Irish speakers can make good careers in translation)

Learning a language is beneficial but don't waste money on Irish. It is in my opinion a dead language, the majority of Irish people don't speak it, very few are fluent.

Not a waste of money. It's a great way to get a decent paying job in the EU! Not many Irish speakers - means not much competition!

I remember thinking I'd learn Welsh years ago to help me get a job. In the end I was offered a job in London, so didn't take it any further, but having a niche language = niche opportunities.

Depressing attitude. Many parents spend money in music lessons or sports kit without thinking ‘Will my child derive some use from grade 3 piano or play pro tennis in adulthood?’ Having lived out of Ireland for decades, I’m now working on my Irish (my workplace offers classes, and I also watch TG4 and listen to Irish language podcasts) and finding it hugely enriching.

OP, @SisterMichaelsHabit ’s posts in particular are good. Though yy to the poster who pointed out that having three dialects which can differ quite markedly, makes things complex, as some learning resources are written in an official standard Irish no one actually speaks. I can and do speak Irish regularly, though I’m not a native speaker, but Donegal Irish can still fox me.

What part of the country do your DH's family come from? Might give an indication of which dialect to concentrate on?

Totally follow her interest and get a tutor for Irish if you can.

1. Motivation is more important than intelligence for success - if she's interested that's great!
2. I know of someone who was interested in Latin - and he's now a Latin lecturer at a Chinese university!
3. A mate of mine has moved to Ireland permanently - she was a teacher in the UK but she's not allowed to teach in Ireland until she's learnt Irish.

You have no idea where this could lead, and there's no harm in it :)

Thanks all!

They’re from lovely Donegal :)

If they are from Donegal, it will be Ulster Irish that is of most interest. I would try the Queens resource mentioned by a previous poster. There is also Now Your Talking on youtube, which is an old series, but still good (the outfits might amuse too!):
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For live lessons, you could try the app italki and find an Irish language teacher there. It may be cheaper than a tutor in your area.

Ulster Irish so.
The speaker in the 'Gaeilge i mo Chroí' link upthread is from Donegal so that might be useful.

Grant and Cutler, the specialist language section at Foyles, has a game of snap in Irish which she might enjoy.

https://www.grantandcutler.com/book/50430

Let her do it she's enjoying it and is pleased with herself, she can learn another language later on too if she wishes.

Our youngst has studied German for 3 years. Her choice - she is 10 yo.
She does online class with a teacher once a week. Works well. Half an hour homework each week to hand in online.
And she has of course books, games and dvd's.

It's her 3rd language. She is bilingual from birth. She spends more energy on the two other languages but does really well with German.

I'd let her do it.

Irish is a language featuring every single grammatical twist and turn there is in European languages.

It is a fantastic language to have some knowledge of if she ever wants to study linguistics or programming, or any other language where words change according to case, number, and gender. It's a good basis for German.

You could hire an Irish language tutor for her over the summer - maybe look at advertising in Irish universities for someone currently studying Irish at undergrad level, or someone studying primary education in Ireland. The tutoring could be done online via Zoom or Google Meet, etc.

Looking to the future, if she's still keen and has made some progress, you could investigate an Irish language summer programme in Ireland. Lots of Irish students spend time over the summer holidays at 'Irish college' in the west and southwest of Ireland. They are residential programmes, where students spend three weeks or so, usually billeted in local homes, attending group activities, learning songs and dances, and speaking Irish. Some have a very strict 'one sentence in English and you're kicked out' rule, and some are less strict. Many students return to the same programme for years. Many colleges promote students into supervisory roles (house leader, etc). It can be a fun experience.

Thanks all, just an update to say I’ve found an Irish primary teacher via family and we’re setting up some Easter/summer lessons :)

That's great😊

Hi OP I see you are sorted, but this just came up on my Instagram and I wondered if it might be of interest: