Turas Teanga is an innovative multimedia language course comprising 20 television programmes, a radio series, book, three audio CDs, two DVDs and website. All these media are integrated to provided a comprehensive and interesting course for those who already know some Irish and would like to brush up on their knowledge of the language.

In the television series, available on the two DVDs, Sharon Ní Bheoláin presents a lively mix of reports, interviews, music, song and dance. Sharon travels around the country in glorious summer weather meeting Irish speakers such as Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Breandán de Gallaí and Alex Hijmaans. She talks to people involved in activities varying from kayaking in Conamara to broadcasting in Belfast. Each programme finishes with a skit on reality TV programmes - 'An Grá Faoi Ghlas' (Love Locked Away) introduces ten characters who are brought together under one roof and whose main reason for being there is to find love.

The radio programmes present and discuss the experiences of learners who are following the series and provide helpful hints and support.

The full-colour course book, written by language consultant Éamonn Ó Dónaill and published by Gill & Macmillan, is accompanied by three audio CDs that contain dialogues from the television series, as well as a wide range of activities for the learner. The book, in keeping with the style of the television programmes, is engaging and fun to use.

The DVDs contain the complete television series, indexed for easy access to the various sections of the programmes.

Turas Teanga is aimed primarily at those who have studied Irish in the past and understand a good deal of the language, but have had few opportunities to use it in recent times. It aims to give learners the confidence to speak the language and to help them understand speakers from various parts of the country.

Turas Teanga is underpinned by a carefully-designed communicative syllabus, in which the focus is on topics and language functions. Each programme in the series, and corresponding unit in the book, deals with one main topic. Topics include Education, Work, Health, Travel, Technology, the Media, and Friendship and Love. Simple grammar explanations are given in the book and unnecessary jargon is avoided. An attempt is made at all times to present grammar only as it is required, and in manageable chunks.

RTÉ commissioned the series through a tendering process, which saw three Conamara-based companies - Abú Media, GaelMedia, Eo Teilifís - coming together to win the contract under the name Turas Teanga Teo.

To buy
- Turas Teanga DVDs
- Course pack (containing the Turas Teanga book and three CDs)