Customer Reviews

Irish On Your Own

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Compared to most of the 'travel-focused' language courses available, Irish on Your Own is a welcome change. The lessons are clear, and build on one another very well; the examples in the book and on tape are presented in a normal, 'everyday' atmosphere. Many different speakers, and many examples of pronunciation on the tapes outweigh the lack of pronunciation guidelines in the book (while the english translation is always given, it's often hard to puzzle out just how bhfuil is pronounced 'will', for example.) It does make it harder to learn written Irish; however, this course is not meant to teach you anything beyond conversation, I do not think. New words are presented as part of normal conversations, and are introduced a few at a time, and they are presented at normal speaking speed. Many other taped courses leave the learner with a painfully slow understanding of the language, and they often cannot function in a natural conversation. This is not a problem with the examples on the tapes. The book does present some grammer, although it is very low-key. It also doesn't address spelling or other peculiarities of the langugage well. However, for a casual speaker, these are probably not necessary. If you are looking for an indepth, serious study of Irish, then O'Siadhail's 'Learning Irish' is a good, although more daunting, choice. Irish on You Own is in the Ulster dialect, but understanding the other two main dialects is not that difficult. The lessons do not point out the differences in most cases. I'd definitely recommend this. It was my first introduction to Irish, and I was comfortable with the language very quickly--enough to hold simple conversations with confidence in my pronunciation and ability to communicate. A wonderful choice!!

This is an excellent course, and the one that finally broke me through to a higher plane of fluency in Irish. It is refreshingly modern, lively, and easier to listen to than many other Irish courses I've tried.

Don't be scared off by Irish spelling--it's actually very regular, once you get used to all the "h"s!

It is very, very important to spend a good deal of time listening to (and speaking) the material for each lesson BEFORE reading and writing it. Fortunately, this course is put together in a way that makes this possible--the English translations are given on the tape right along with the Irish, so there's no need to have your nose in the book all the time.

Listening and speaking the lesson FIRST will steer you around the eyes-glued-to-the-page pitfall that sabotages so many language learners. Learning without looking at the book might be unnerving at first, but it is well worth the effort. As your ears and brain do what they do best, your comprehension and conversational confidence will soar; learning by ear first is actually the most important step you can take towards becoming a strong reader and writer of Irish.

Ádh mór--good luck, and many thanks to Éamonn and Deirbhile for this wonderful course!

This is indeed a well thought and well presented outline for speakers BUT!! The whole shebang is brought to you in Ulster dialect and it's not the Munster form that's taught in schools or the Connaught you'll hear in the west Gaeltacht. It's not that you'll be unfathomable to general Irish speakers, but you'll have some comprehension problems due to the difference in vowels and sometimes accents. Be careful!

This is a great product! Very professionally done. As has been mentioned elsewhere, it is definitely the Ulster dialect of Irish, but that shouldn't scare off anyone. The book, and audio are very learner-friendly. It is a great book/audio combo to start out with in your adventure of learning Irish. I only wish that the video tapes that make up the originally aired TV program from which these audio tapes came were available for purchase. Short of that, this is best Irish course to begin studying Irish with that I have come across.

Originally published as "Now You're Talking" and based on a popular television series of the same name, IOYO is a wonderful course for all types of beginners. As posted in another review here, the emphasis is on the Ulster dialect. However, I find that no cautions are needed. Ulster is a popular dialect for many learners in this day and age, and anymore you will be easily understood by any other Irish speaker. In fact, it was IOYO's excellent presentation, pacing, order, and audio quality that caused me to take notice of the formerly unfashionable Ulster sound. If you're serious about the language then this is a must-try, along with "Learning Irish" and "Teach Yourself Irish." If you're a casual learner you will find it immediately useful, and as you go you'll build a solid foundation of grammar understanding. The book's tone is lighthearted and when used for revision far from tedious. I would add that as with all language courses having the audio is strongly recommended, but IOYO boasts a particularly friendly and clear set of tapes.

I am a language enthusiast, and in my limited experience with this title I have been quite happy. Unfortunetly, this book utilizes a format which is difficult to follow. The Irish language is very difficult to grasp, especially since the written words very often are pronounced very differently from their spelling. Although this book has audio tapes they don't spend nearly enough time on the pronounciation of the language, which I believe to be of priority to learning a language. This title is great, though, for the student of language who doesn't mind being frustrated every once in a while. A Good Buy!

First of all, it helps if you have a healthy interest in the gaelic tongue, but that is not merely enough. I tried listening to the tapes at work without looking at the book, but had to look at the words because I learn by a combination of looking and listening. Everybody is different. It takes a lot of repetition or, better yet, take certain phrases that appeal to you and learn them first, then go back and pick up some more each time you return to the tapes and the book.

I also recommend listening to the music of Irish artists like Clannad, Maev, Enya, etc., with the lyrics and translations handy. I often write the words down as I listen in a phonetic spelling thats simpler for me to grasp. It isn't easy, and the course can be daunting without some additional help. The program suggests a series of companionable aids to help you learn the language with more efficiency. In this case, I recommend the book I ordered, Teach Yourself Irish by Diarmuid O' Se' and Joseph Sheils. It contains an enunciation key that's missing from the book in this product.

If you are just tackling Irish for the first time, you cannot go wrong with this program. It is a clear step up from the Teach Yourself Irish program, which seems disjointed, and is more suited for beginners than the Micheal O' Siadhail program, Learning Irish. Both may be worthwhile eventually, but a beginner in Irish requires clarity above all else, and this program does a great job of taking the intimidation out of learning Irish.

Irish On Your Own gradually works you into spelling and pronounciation, and the chapters are short so as not to be frustrating. The layout is clear, filled with pictures and illustrations to literally illustrate various points. After the 30 chapters, there is a portion of the book called "useful information" which helps you make use of your new language skills when you get to Ireland.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This is the best book/tape combination I have ever seen for Irish language, and I have been looking for years! It is very conversational, teaching you the kind of language you'd actually use in the Gaeltacht -- every day kinds of questions and answers. You also learn to "hear up to speed" -- the speakers don't slow down for the learner, so you are interpreting whole sentences at a time right from the start.

Not only is the vocabulary selection wonderful, the pictures, the short chapters, and the nature of the exercises really hold your interest! This is the true beauty of this set. It takes a lot of tenacity to plow through most books on Irish, but this set is exciting.

If you are a linguist looking for a good grammar of Irish, this is not the book for you. Even non-linguists might want to refer to Micheal O'Siadhial, for example, for more thorough explanations of the *why* of Irish grammar and idioms.

I feel that the kind of learner who would benefit best from this book/tape set is one who has had some exposure to Irish before (so she or he won't feel overwhelmed at the beginning by the fast and furious sentences), but wouldn't be able to make Irish conversation in an everyday situation.

I would strongly recommend this book/tape set to anyone wanting to spend time speaking Irish in the Gaeltacht!

THIS WAS MADE SIMPLE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND. I THINK IT IS AN EASY WAY TO LEARN A LANGUAGE. I WOULD PUT THE TAPE ON IN THE CAR WHILE DRIVING, AND AT HOME I WOULD READ THE BOOK AND FOLLOW LESSONS WITH HEADSET ON. I FIRST BOUGHT ANOTHER BOOK WITH TAPES, WRITTEN BY M.S. I DON'T WISH THAT BOOK ON ANYONE.....