Foghlaim na Gaeilge agus a húsáid

Aoife Ní Ghloinn, Director of Lárionad na Gaeilge in Maynooth University, tells us about the establishment of the centre and the resources available to help people learn Irish they can use in everyday situations.

Sa bhliain 1971 a bunaíodh Ionad na dTeangacha in Ollscoil Mhá Nuad, an chéad ionad ollscoile dá leithéid in Éirinn, mar sheirbhís tacaíochta do ranna teanga na hOllscoile.

Lárionad na Gaeilge was created from the original Language Centre in 2016 to promote best practice and innovation in the teaching and assessment of Gaeilge. What exactly does that mean, though?

RTE.ie/Gaeilge spoke to the Director of the Lárionad, Aoife Ní Ghloinn, to find out.

Bhí dúshlán agus uaillmhian i gceist leis an gcéim sin?

"Nuair a bunaíodh Ionad na dTeangacha ar dtús, bhí an bhéim ar na teangacha Eorpacha uilig, an Ghaeilge ina measc. Is dócha gur tháinig an t-athrú nó an uaillmhian sin a luaigh tú chun cinn sna nóchaidí nuair a ceapadh Anna Ní Ghallchóir ina stiúrthóir ar Ionad na dTeangacha."

"Duine í a raibh blianta caite aici sa Fhrainc ag plé leis na teangacha Eorpacha; mar sin bhí dearcadh idirnáisiúnta Eorpach aici, ach is cainteoir dúchais Gaeilge í ag an am céanna agus bhí tuiscint anmhaith aici ar an nGaeilge agus ar chás na Gaeilge, agus is dócha gur thug sí an dá rud sin le chéile... Bhí sí ag breathnú ar an dea-chleachtas idirnáisiúnta, ar na forbairtí móra a bhí á ndéanamh i dteagasc agus i measúnú teangacha, an Fráma Tagartha Comónta Eorpach do Theangacha, agus an tábhar teagaisc dílis a bhí á fhorbairt d'fhoghlaimeoirí teanga san Eoraip agus chonaic sí deiseanna úra don Ghaeilge."

"Anna saw many of the exciting developments happening internationally in the field of language teaching and testing, and she identified a number of gaps in what was available for those learning Gaeilge in this country. So this was where, with Gaeilge, in particular, she was pioneering and able to do things no-one else was doing at the time."

Le léimt ar aghaidh cuid mhaith blianta, ba in 2005 a tháinig Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge isteach agus is dócha gurb é sin sprioc na hoibre ar fad a bhí á déanamh ag Anna agus ag Siuán Ní Mhaonaigh, stiúrthóir Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge, an Lárionaid, ar bhealach?

"Is ea, foilsíodh an Fráma Tagartha Comónta Eorpach (FTCE) sa bhliain 2001. Bhí an réimse taighde ar a dtugtar an teangeolaíocht fheidhmeach, applied linguistics, ag teacht chun cinn ó na seachtóidí ar aghaidh agus rinneadh iarracht go leor den saineolas a bhí tar éis eascairt as an taighde sin a thabhairt le chéile sa Fhráma Tagartha."

"An rud is tábhachtaí faoin bhFráma Tagartha, b’fhéidir, ná gur spreag sé daoine le breathnú ar an bhfoghlaimeoir teanga ar bhealach úr – mar úsáideoir teanga. Is cuma cén leibhéal ag a bhfuil na foghlaimeoirí, ba cheart dúinn a bheith ag cuimhneamh ar cén áit agus cén chaoi a mbeidh siad in ann úsáid a bhaint as an teanga ina saol féin. Sin sprioc na foghlama, de réir an FTCE."

"What was most pioneering about the Fráma Tagartha, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or CEFR, was that it challenged us to think of language competence as the ability to communicate and to view the language learner as a language user. Within this approach, the goal of language education should be to enable learners of all levels to use the language in a meaningful way in their own lives. The CEFR approach is a kind of antidote to this problem as it ensures that what we teach and assess reflects authentic language use."

"So many people spend fourteen years learning Gaeilge in school, and invest a huge amount of time and energy into learning the language and studying for their Leaving Cert Irish exam, and yet, so many seem to leave school without the ability or confidence to use Irish to communicate in real-world situations."

"Tá an cur chuige sin le feiceáil go han-soiléir i dTeastas Eorpach na Gaeilge – siollabais agus córas neamhspleách scrúduithe atá forbartha ag an Lárionad bunaithe ar an bhFráma Tagartha Comónta Eorpach. Tugann TEG struchtúr agus spriocanna soiléire d’fhoghlaimeoirí le tacú leo a gcumas cumarsáide sa Ghaeilge a fhorbairt céim ar chéim.

Cad is brí le 'ábhar dílis teagaisc' a luann tú thuas?

"Séard is brí le hábhair dílis teagaisc nó 'authentic materials’ sa Bhéarla, ná ceachtanna teanga atá bunaithe ar mhíreanna raidió agus teilifíse nó ar théacsanna a léann daoine sa ghnáthshaol, seachas téacsanna a chumtar ar mhaithe le foghlaimeoirí."

"An fhealsúnacht atá taobh thiar den ábhar dílis ná, má táimid ag iarraidh foghlaimeoirí a chumasú le hiad féin a shamhlú mar úsáideoirí teanga, caithfimid an bhearna idir úsáid na teanga sa seomra ranga agus úsáid na teanga sa saol mór a dhúnadh beagáinín."

"Authentic materials are effective if the learner understands between 70% and 90% of the content. They can then fill in the remainder with the context, as they may be familiar with a news story about, say, Donald Trump, because they already know the story in English. So authentic materials give them a scaffold to help them engage with authentic content in the target language.

"Tá obair cheannródaíoch déanta ag Lárionad na Gaeilge i gcomhar le TG4 le 25 bliain anuas le hábhar dílis a fhorbairt do lucht teagaisc agus foghlama na Gaeilge. Tá na céadta ceacht cruthaithe againn bunaithe ar mhíreanna físe ó Nuacht TG4 agus ón sobalchlár Ros na Rún agus tá an t-ábhar sin ar fad ar fáil saor in aisce don phobal faoin rannóg SnasTV ar an suíomh www.snas.ie."

The Lárionad is based in a third level institution in Ollscoil Mhá Nuad, and you have plans to add to the existing resources available but are there resources available currently to learners and beginners of Gaeilge who might read this interview?

"There is a lot of material on www.snas.ie at the moment for intermediate to advanced learners, at levels B1, B2 and C1. We plan to add significantly to the website in the coming years, with more SnasTV materials based on other TG4 programmes, as well as materials and resources based on TEG for learners at all levels."

"Bíonn ranganna Gaeilge ar fáil ag an Lárionad freisin d'fhoghlaimeoirí ag gach leibhéil A1 go C1, chomh maith le sainchúrsaí oiliúna ar líne ar theagasc na Gaeilge agus ar chúrsaí aistriúcháin agus eagarthóireachta."

"Our language courses at A1 level are aimed at total beginners, while A2 courses may be suitable for 'false beginners’ – those who feel they have forgotten what they learned at school, but who might surprise themselves with how much dormant knowledge can be reactivated once they come into contact with the language again."

Tuilleadh eolais ag www.snas.ie, ar www.teg.ie agus ar shuíomh gréasáin Lárionad na Gaeilge.