Minister O’Keeffe and Des Bishop launch new website to teach Irish

The Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD, today [Monday] launched an interactive website to improve teaching and learning of spoken Irish in post-primary schools in a move backed by popular comedian Des Bishop.

Abair Leat! is a virtual online language laboratory in which students can improve their Irish by interacting over the internet with native Irish speakers.

Students can use the website to listen to native Irish speakers, record their own material in Irish and undertake self-correcting exercises.

Teachers can assess students’ work on the website and give spoken feedback online or written feedback by email.

The pilot phase of Abair Leat!, which will be rolled out in 14 post-primary schools initially, is aimed at supporting the oral syllabus in first year of post-primary school.

Launching the online platform in Coláiste Choilm, Ballincollig, Co Cork, today, Minister O’Keeffe said: ‘Abair Leat!’s mix of audio-visual material, vocabulary and grammar lessons, and self-correcting exercises makes it an innovative, flexible and modern online tool to improve learning and teaching in Irish.

‘The website encourages independent learning by allowing students to practise their oral Irish at home and in the classroom and it gives teachers the opportunity to assess them online.

‘I want to acknowledge the continuing support of Des Bishop who has generated significant goodwill for Irish and championed the cause of the language as a living part of the community.

‘The proportion of marks for oral Irish in the Leaving Certificate examination will increase from 25pc to 40pc from 2012 so it is timely to examine new ways to improve students’ oral competency by leveraging the power of the internet.’

Des Bishop, whose award-winning documentary ‘In The Name Of The Fada’ was based on his year learning Irish in the Connemara gaeltacht, said he wants to continue to work with Minister O’Keeffe to get more young people speaking Irish.

‘Abair Leat! is an important step in our ongoing efforts to make the learning and teaching of Irish more enjoyable and interactive by focusing on the primacy of the spoken word,’ said Mr Bishop.

Abair Leat! was initially developed as a CD-ROM by the well-known Irish college, Coláiste Lurgan, in Indreabhán, Co Galway, and was adapted for the internet for Coláiste Lurgan by Galway-based information technology companies Digilog and Block 5.

 
Content for first-year students for the pilot programme was provided by teachers seconded to the Second Level Support Services for Irish (SLSS-Gaeilge) and the lessons available will be expanded in the coming months.

Des Bishop will now embark on a tour of a number of the pilot schools demonstrating Abair Leat! to students and teachers.

Thirteen of the 14 schools, including Coláiste Choilm, are part of the Government’s €16 million high-speed wireless broadband plan.

It is expected that these schools will have wireless broadband speeds of up to 100 megabits per second before the Summer.

Abair Leat! is at www.abairleat.com

1ú Feabhrá, 2010

Láithreán gréasáin nua le Gaeilge a mhúineadh á sheoladh ag an tAire Batt O'Keeffe agus Deasún Mac an Easpaig

Sheol an tAire Oideachais agus Eolaíochta, Batt O’Keeffe TD, láithreán gréasáin idirghníomhach inniu [Dé Luain] le feabhas a chur ar fhoghlaim agus ar mhúineadh na Gaeilge labhartha in iar-bhunscoileanna.

Tá a thacaíocht leis an mbeart léirithe ag an aisteoir grinn aithnidiúil, Deasún Mac an Easpaig.  

Is saotharlann fhíorúil teanga ar líne é Abair Leat! a chabhraíonn le scoláirí feabhas a chur ar a gcuid Gaeilge trí chaidreamh le cainteoirí dúchais ar an idirlíon. 

Is féidir le scoláirí an láithreán a úsáid chun éisteacht le cainteoirí dúchais Gaeilge, le hábhar i nGaeilge dá gcuid féin a thaifeadadh agus le ceachtanna féincheartaithe a dhéanamh. 

Is féidir le múinteoirí measúnú a dhéanamh ar shaothar na scoláirí ar an láithreán agus aiseolas ó bhéal a thabhairt dóibh ar líne.

De rogha air sin, is féidir leo aiseolas scríofa a sheoladh chucu trí ríomhphost.

Is é an aidhm atá le céim phíolótach Abair Leat! ná tacaíocht a thabhairt le siollabas béil na chéad bhliana san iar-bhunscoil.

Cuirfear tús leis in 14 iar-bhunscoil ar dtús. 

Agus an t-ardán ar líne á sheoladh ag an Aire Batt O’Keeffe i gColáiste Choilm, Baile an Chollaigh i gCorcaigh inniu, bhí an méid seo le rá aige: ‘I ngeall ar an gcnuasach d’ábhar closamhairc, stór focal, ceachtanna gramadaí agus ceachtanna féincheartaithe atá ar fáil ar Abair Leat!, is uirlis nuálaíoch, sholúbtha agus nua-aimseartha ar líne é seo ar mhaithe le feabhas a chur ar fhoghlaim agus ar mhúineadh na Gaeilge.

‘Spreagann an láithreán gréasáin scoláirí le foghlaim neamhspleách a dhéanamh.

‘Cuireann sé ar a gcumas a gcuid Gaeilge labhartha a chleachtadh sa bhaile agus sa seomra ranga agus tugann sé deis do mhúinteoirí measúnú a dhéanamh orthu ar líne.

‘Ba mhaith liom aitheantas a thabhairt don tacaíocht leanúnach atá á tabhairt ag Deasún Mac an Easpaig - duine a bhfuil dea-thoil suntasach i leith na Gaeilge bainte amach aige agus a bhfuil an teanga curtha chun cinn aige mar chuid dhílis de shaol an phobail.

‘Ardófar riar na marcanna a bheidh ag dul don scrúdú béil Gaeilge san Ardteistiméireacht ó 25pc go 40pc ón mbliain 2012 ar aghaidh.

‘Is tráthúil an uair í, más ea, le hiniúchadh a dhéanamh ar shlite nua le feabhas a chur ar chumas labhartha scoláirí le cumhacht an idirlín.’

Dúirt Deasún Mac an Easpaig, ar bronnadh duais ar a chlár faisnéise ‘In The Name Of The Fada’ maidir leis an an mbliain a chaith sé ag foghlaim na Gaeilge i ngaeltacht Chonamara, gur mhaith leis leanúint de bheith ag obair leis an Aire le níos mó daoine óga a spreagadh le Gaeilge a labhairt.

‘Céim thábhachtach is ea Abair Leat! inár gcuid iarrachtaí leanúnacha le go mbeidh foghlaim agus múineadh na Gaeilge níos taitneamhaí agus níos idirghníomhaí trí aird a dhíriú go príomha ar an teanga labhartha,’ a dúirt an tUasal Mac an Easpaig.

Ba é an coláiste Gaeilge aitheanta, Coláiste Lurgan in Indreabhán, Contae na Gaillimhe,  a d’fhorbair Abair Leat! mar CD-ROM i dtosach.

Ba iad na cuideachtaí teicneolaíocht faisnéise, Digilog agus Block 5, atá lonnaithe i nGaillimh, a chuir in oiriúint don idirlíon é thar ceann Choláiste Lurgan.

 
Ba mhúinteoirí atá ar iasacht leis an tSeirbhís Tacaíochta Dara Leibhéal don Ghaeilge a sholáthair ábhar do scoláirí na chéad bhliana don chlár píolótach seo.

Cuirfear le hábhar na gceachtanna atá ar fáil sna míonna atá amach romhainn.

Tabharfaidh Deasún Mac an Easpaig cuairt ar chuid de na scoileanna píolótacha agus Abair Leat! á thaispeáint aige do scoláirí agus do mhúinteoirí.

Tá trí cinn déag de na ceithre scoil déag - Coláiste Choilm san áireamh - bainteach le plean leathanbhanda ardluais gan sreang an rialtais ar fiú €16 milliún é.

Táthar ag súil go mbeidh luas leathanbhanda gan sreang de 100 meigighiotán sa soicind ag na scoileanna seo roimh an samhradh.

Tá Abair Leat! ar fáil ag www.abairleat.com

CRÍOCH