Scríobhann Róisín Cullen mar gheall ar a taithí ag teagasc na Gaeilge in Éirinn agus thar lear, in Vancouver.
Thosaigh mé ag múineadh daoine fásta Gaeilge trí Ghaelchultúr nuair a bhog mé go Vancouver. Bíonn rang againn gach Luain agus tá an chuid is mó den daoine a bhíonn á mhúineadh agam ó Mheiriceá. Tá an teanga an-tábhachtach dom agus bhí sé ar intinn agam í a fhoghlaim nuair a bhí mé an-óg. Caithfidh mé adhmáil go bhfuil ceangal mór agam le Gaeilge. Rugadh agus tugadh mé in Éirinn agus labhraíonn mo chlann Gaeilge. Rud a thugadh dom agus mé in Vancouver ná go mbíonn go leor suim ag muintir Mheiriceá i gcúrsaí Gaeilge. Cén fáth í sin? Níl siad ag deánamh na hArdteiste. Is cuma leo faoi na sraithpictiúir, Cáca Milis agus Yu Ming.
Nuair a thosaigh mé ar an gcéad lá, níor chreid mé an méid iarracht a chuir siad go léir isteach sa rang. Bíonn siad díograiseach, fíosrach agus fíorbhuíoch as an teanga a fhoghlaim. Deánann na daoine seo an rang tar éis lá oibre fhada. Tá siad fíor sásta focail agus briathra a fhoghlaim in ionad sos a thógail ar an dtolg.
Is mór dom a rá go raibh saghas díoma orm nuair a bhí mé ag caint faoi cúrsaí Gaeilge abhaile leo. Bhí saghas náire orm. Tá ceann de na daoine seo ag pleanáil turais go hÉireann. Bheadh siad lán sásta caint i nGaeilge sna siopanna agus na tithe tabhairne. Ach, an rud ann ná, an mbeidh siad in ann? Ní thuigeann na Meirceánaigh an méid eagla a gabhann leis an Modh Coinníollach nó fiú an Bheáltriail. Ach tá an rang seo ag foghlaim ár dteanga i mbealach iomlán difriúil.
Níl aon bhrú orthu. Tá siad ag foghlaim Ghaeilge toisc go raibh siad ag iarraidh í a fhoghlaim. Nuair a smaoiníonn siad ar an nGaeilge, smaoiníonn said ar phióntaí Guinness sa Cheathrú Rua, An Cáilín Ciúin sa phictiúrlann agus Paul Mescal ar an gcairpeád dearg. Tá na ranganna bunaithe ar chomhrá, gháire agus bhotúin.
Feiceann Louise Mahon na difríochtaí céanna idir fhoghlaimeoirí teanga in Éirinn agus foghlaimeoirí teanga ó thíortha eile. Tá rang aici i gColáiste na hOllscoile, Báile Átha Cliath. Dúirt sí: "Is as Meiriceá iad agus tíortha eile chomh maith. Bíonn suim acu sna ranganna i gcónaí. Bíonn siad chomh ard-spregadh maidir leis an Gaeilge i slí nach mbíonn na daoine a roghnaigh é mar chuid den chéim atá acu. Bíonn siad I gcónaí fiosrach faoin Gaeilge.
"Táim ag foghlaim an Ghaeilge ó cúig bliana d'aois. Níor smaoinigh mé riamh- cén fáth ar gcuirtear urú mar sin istigh nó cén fáth go deireann tú seanteach in ionad teach sean.
"Bíonn na ceisteanna sin acu agus taispeánann sé sin cé chomh fiosrach a bhíonn siad I mbealach nach mbíonn daoine Éireannacha. Ar an gcéad lá, chuir mé ar an cheist orthu- cén fáth gur roghnaigh tú gaeilge? Bhí mise ag súil go bhfuil clan acu in Éirinn ach dúirt siadsan liom go raibh siad ag iarraidh chuid den chultúr a bhaint amach.
"Ní raibh nasc ar bith acu le hÉirinn ach bhí siad fós fiosrach faoin teanga. Deánaim iarracht a bheith dearfach faoin teanga ach ar ndóigh thug mé cúlra éigin dóibh, agus mé ag rá ní mhuíntear an teanga i mbealach an sasúil sna scoileanna. Deireann siadsan i gcónaí liom gur chuala siad an Ghaeilge ar an Luas nó rud éigin mar sin.
Dar le Louise, tá caighdeán ard iontach ag a rang anois tar éis cúpla seachtain. Dúirt sí: "Cuireann siad an obair isteach agus bíonn siad níos tapúla. Fiú i Seimisteár 1, dearfainn go mbeidh leibhéal Gailge acu acu atá mar an gceanna le daltaí sa chéad bhliain sa mheanscoil… b’fhéidir níos fear ná sin. Ní bhíonn an eagla cheanna acu. Ní bhíonn na buzzwords ón Ardtesist acu. Ní bhíonn siad ag smaoineamh faoin scrúdú deacair, ollmhóir."
Conaíonn Ann Haines i gCalifornia agus tá sí ag foghlaim Gaeilge. Is múinteoir bunscoile í agus tá an ghaeilge fíor tabháchtach di. Chuala siad an teanga don chéad uair nuair a bhí siad sa mheanscoil i Meiriceá. Dúirt sí: "I was taking a Russian class in the summer and our teacher was from Ireland. He spoke Irish. We would visit the language lab back when we still had cassette tapes. That’s where I heard Irish for the first time. I didn’t know that Ireland had Irish, a separate language from England when I was young. I have always been interested in languages. I studied linguistics and I visited Ireland for my year abroad.
"I spent two months i gCeathrú Rua. It was a brand new experience for me. Irish is extremely important to me. I have always cared about languages in the world, especially languages that are at risk of disappearing. I want to learn it in the hope of keeping it alive for future generations. It’s a living language. There isn’t one right way to speak Irish just like the way there isn’t one way of seeing the world.
"I want to keep learning Irish and to go as far as I can. My hope too is that people will stay in Ireland. When I was there in the nineties, so many of the students were leaving. They were graduating and going on to other places."
Bhí cúiseanna difriúla ag foghlaimeoir teanga Ben Grondahl. Tá Ben ina chónaí i Virginia ach is as New England é. Nuair a smaoiníonn Ben ar an nGaeilge, smaoiníonn sé faoi a chlann- go hairíthe a seanmhathair. Dúirt sé : "I grew up with my grandma having Irish around the house, but just the kind of stuff like 'sláinte’ and little slogans. I actually didn’t know Irish was a living language until I went to Ireland a few years back. My grandmother and I had a sort of special tradition around St Patrick’s Day.
"She shared recipes for boiled dinners which I’ve gathered. My mom’s side of the family heavily connects with our Irish roots. Even though being Irish-American is not the same as being Irish, it has always been a major part of my identity.
Bhí sé ar intinn ag Ben na logainmneacha eagsúla a fhoghlaim. Dúirt sé: "After going to Ireland, I realised there was much more to Irishness than I really realised. I wanted to learn how to pronounce the place names.
"I wanted to learn more about who I actually was and where I came from. The Irish language is so exciting for me because in my imagination I think that maybe this is how my ancestors spike and thought. Language has so much to do with how we think about things and in learning this beautiful language, I am connecting to something special about the past. It is a way to touch a piece of my past and keep it alive, as best I can do as an American. It’s also a homage to my grandmother, who has passed- a way to honour her."
I started teaching Irish to adults with the company Gaelchultúr after I moved to Vancouver. We have a class every Monday with most of the students based in the States. Irish has always been very important to me. I made it my business to learn it to the best of my ability when I was only small. I have to admit, that I have a deep personal connection with Irish and have many reasons for learning how to speak it. I was born and raised in Ireland and some of my family members speak Irish. However, the massive interest that Americans have in our language took me completely aback. They don’t have a Leaving Certificate to do. They couldn’t care less about sraithpictiúir, Cáca Milis and Yu Ming.
When I started on the first day, I couldn’t believe the amount of effort my class put in. They were dedicated, inquisitive and grateful to learn Irish. These people log into the class after long days in work. They are happy enough to learn vocab and grammar instead of taking a well-deserved rest on the couch.
I have to say, that I felt a sense of disappointment when I was speaking about the current status of Irish at home. I was ashamed. A lot of my students are planning road trips around Ireland in the future. They would be happy enough to chat to people as Gaeilge in shops and pubs. However, is this actually a reasonable ask in 2023? American learners don’t understand the fear that comes with the Modh Coinníollach or the Irish oral.
However, they are learning Irish in a completely different way than I did. There’s no pressure on them. They are learning Irish because they want to learn Irish. When they think of the Irish language -they think of pints of creamy Guinness in Carraroe, An Cháilín Ciúin on the big screen and Paul Mescal on the red carpet. The classes are based on conversation, a bit of craic and lots of mistakes.
Louise Mahon sees the same differences between Irish language learners in Ireland and Irish language learners from other countries. She teaches a class in UCD. Louise said: "They [her students] are from America and from a few different countries as well. They have interest in the classes all the time. They are so motivated when it comes to learning Irish in a way that people who have chosen it for their degree are often not. I have been learning Irish from when I was five-years-old but I had never thought about why we put an urú in a certain place or why we say seanteach instead of teach sean.
"These are the kind of questions they have during class. I think it just gives a good insight into how inquisitive they are, in a way that many Irish people are often not. On the first day, I always ask them why they have chosen to learn Irish. I was expecting that most people had an ancestral connection to Ireland but that was not the case.
They said that they just wanted to get a taste of the culture. They didn’t have any kind of link to the language but still wanted to know everything about it. I make an effort to be positive and explain that Irish is not always taught in the best way in schools. They always tell me that they heard Irish for the first time on the Luas, or something like that."
Louise says that her class already have a very high standard of Irish. She said: "They put the work in and they are usually quicker at learning as a result. Even at the end of Semester 1, I would say they had the same level of Irish as a student in first year of school… maybe better. They don’t have the same sort of fear associated with Irish. They don’t have the Leaving Cert buzzwords. They aren’t thinking of this massive, difficult test."
Ann Haines lives in California and is learning Irish. She is an elementary school teacher and Irish is very important to her. She heard Irish for the very first time when she was in high school. Ann said: "I was taking a Russian class in the summer and our teacher was from Ireland. He spoke Irish. We would visit the language lab back when we still had cassette tapes. That’s where I heard Irish for the first time. I didn’t know that Ireland had Irish, a separate language from England when I was young. I have always been interested in languages. I studied linguistics and I visited Ireland for my year abroad. I spent two months i gCeathrú Rua. It was a brand new experience for me.
"Irish is extremely important to me. I have always cared about languages in the world, especially languages that are at risk of disappearing. I want to learn it in the hope of keeping it alive for future generations. It’s a living language. There isn’t one right way to speak Irish just like the way there isn’t one way of seeing the world.
"I want to keep learning Irish and to go as far as I can. My hope too is that people will stay in Ireland. When I was there in the nineties, so many of the students were leaving. They were graduating and going on to other places."
Ben Grondahl had different reasons for learning Irish. He is living in Virginia but is originally from New England. When Ben thinks of Irish, he thinks of his family, especially his late grandmother. He said: "I grew up with my grandma having Irish around the house, but just the kind of stuff like ‘sláinte’ and little slogans. I actually didn’t know Irish was a living language until I went to Ireland a few years back.
"My grandmother and I had a sort of special tradition around St Patrick’s Day. She shared recipes for boiled dinners which I’ve gathered. My mom’s side of the family heavily connects with our Irish roots. Even though being Irish-American is not the same as being Irish, it has always been a major part of my identity."
Ben really wants to learn how to properly say all the Irish place names, having spotted the translations under all the signs during a trip to Ireland. He said: "After going to Ireland, I realised there was much more to Irishness than I really realised. I wanted to learn how to pronounce the place names.
"I wanted to learn more about who I actually was and where I came from. The Irish language is so exciting for me because in my imagination I think that maybe this is how my ancestors spike and thought. Language has so much to do with how we think about things and in learning this beautiful language, I am connecting to something special about the past. It is a way to touch a piece of my past and keep it alive, as best I can do as an American. It’s also a homage to my grandmother, who has passed- a way to honour her."
