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| INNOVATIVE E-LEARNING LESSONS AND EXERCISES IN IRISH WITH AUTOMATIC MARKING AND CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT |
| Resources |
On the website www..studybase.com/moodle we are providing resources for learners of Irish at intermediate- and advanced-levels from 5th Class primary school, Transition Year, postprimary, to university degree level.
Who are we? We are a team of web designers, teachers and translators, living in Cos Kildare and Meath in Ireland west of Dublin and trading under the business name STUDYBASE. We are all enthusiastic about the Irish language and keen to do our bit to help others learn it well and enjoy the experience.
Our first venture has been the conversion of two grammar books, Úrchúrsa [advanced level ] and Nuachúrsa [intermediate level], from the print medium to the computer. Now, however, free of the constraints of the printed page, the lessons have been livened up for display on a screen or interactive whiteboard and the exercises have been converted to auotmatically marked quizzes. ("No. Answers are not supplied. Not until the student has had a chance to find them out for themselves.)
In addition features such as continuous assessment and end-of-course certification have been added. |
| But these are grammar lessons ... |
| Yes. There are many ways of learning a second language. Children who attend Gaelscoileanna, for example, Irish-medium schools, aquire a considerable amount of Irish in a very short time. They have a huge vocabulary, a good grasp of word-order and idiom, good pronunciation, and a wonderfully proud and positive attitude to the language yet most would admit that they do not really know "how the language works." That is where grammar comes in useful. It enables the student to clarify the use of verbs and nouns, adjectives and adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions, direct and indirect speech. It enables the good student to achieve even higher marks in the exams and helps the student who finds Irish difficult to get a grip on the basic structures.. |
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These lessons and exercises have been in use by groups of students for many months now. Imagine our surprise to find youngsters, on their own, beavering away at their verb tenses in Irish during the recent Christmas holidays.
Since the computer awards marks in the form of 60/100 for example, or 60%, most students are motivated to look back over their work to see where they lost marks and correct the errors.
If they have got something completely wrong they can get back to the lesson at the touch of a button and find out where the error lies.
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| Grinds |
| Parents considering a grind in Irish should consider StudyBase as a useful reference grammar. A registered student who has paid the moderate fee can send questions to a qualified teacher who will quickly respond |
| Automatic correction of exercises |
| Those of us old enough to remember nuns and brothers at their best remember how thoroughly they corrected our copies. Teachers nowadays have large classes and busy lives. It would be well-nigh impossible to correct 150 scripts in detail twice a week. Thankfully with the assistance of modern technology that is now possible. The student can try, and try, and try again until s/he gets the right answer. Or one of them. We have programmed a variety of answers to particular questions. |
| The parent's role |
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Lucky the student whose father, mother, or guardian knows Irish. These lessons and exercises give a focus to the student's learning and can enable such a parent to give help without overwhelming the student with too much detail.
If you know some Irish why not help your son or daughter to use these lessons and exercises. They will gladly learn with you and you will enjoy reviving your own Irish.
Don;t condemn the Irish on the site if it differs from your own. Just let them see there are many ways to express the same ideas. |
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| Official Standard or Dialect? |
| Beware, the language version given in most of these lessons is of the Official Standard variety. The language learnt by a parent in the Gaeltacht may be somewhat different in form but rather than raise difficulties this can be a source of family pride and extra information. It can supplement the textbook Irish. "That is what is required there but this is how your Deaideo used say it." The student will never forget such personal memories of the living language in his/her own family. Traditional Gaeltacht Irish is the ultimate objective for every learner |
| Continuous assessment |
| At the end of each section of a course the student can download a Teastas or Certificate giving the overall average mark achieved. Achievement is bound to generate motivation. |
| Who provides technical support if we get stuck? |
| The StudyBase office should be able to solve most problems immediately. If not we'll get the experts in to do it as quickly as we can. We can't guarantee uninterupted supply but we will do our best to avoid or remedy such problems. . |
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