How long DOES it take to learn Gaelic?

So, how long *does* it take to learn Gaelic?

Three years.

Next question?


OK, maybe I had better expand on that a little bit.

First off, let's rephrase the question:

'How long does it take the average person of average ability with a fairly busy life to learn Gaelic to a conversational level?'

I reckon, in my experience as a very average learner, it takes between two and a half and three years. Roughly.

If you've cast half an eye over this blog before, you'll know I am a massive fan of the BBC Radio nan Gàidheal Lerners' programme 'Beag air Bheag' with Iain Urchardan.  Every week Iain introduces 'Neach-ionnsachaidh na seachdain', Learner of the Week, and these people each have a very different story to tell.

I remember in an early series, a very busy housewife who was massively commited to bringing up her family and to her church was barely able to string a sentence together after two years of learning. However, she still admirably put herself forward for an interview, and it was done in a way that she could cope with. On the other side of the coin, in the most recent series (Series 4) you had two different dudes (Martin B and Carmine) who had pretty much reached fluency after learning for barely a year. All these people serve to inspire, be it to show that even when you barely have a second to yourself you can pick up a little bit here and there, or that if you have the time and the inclination you can immerse yourself and become fluent in a comparatively short time.

These examples are, in my view, extreme. There is no doubt in my mind that Martin B and Carmine are very intelligent and focussed men. Most of us, me included, are neither particularly daft nor particulary bright. We have jobs and social lives and make the most of our free time. While the 'Holy Grail' in Gaelic is to reach fluency, what really makes the whole thing really come to life is to reach a conversational level - a level at which we can express ourselves. If you're doing the 'regular route' of distance learning by Cùrsa Inntrigidh followed by Cùrsa Adhartais with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, that 'Eureka' moment comes roughly towards the end of the first year of Cùrsa Adhartais or during the second year.

The first two years of learning Gaelic, in my experience, can be the toughest. You learn and learn and learn and you still can't seem to be able to string a sentence together. Sure, you can say 'Ciamar a tha thu?' and as long as someone comes out with a response you know, you're good. You may get a few sentences down the line then the whole thing will stall. The person you're speaking to uses phrases and words you really don't understand, or you don't have the vocabulary to express what you want to say, and the sheer frustration makes you end up switching to English and you loose face.

However, if you keep at it and keep practicing your 'key phrases' and expanding your vocab, you'll eventually reach that Eureka moment where you hold your first conversation entirely in Gaelic. It might be broken Gaelic, there may be mistakes galore and the odd bit of 'Beurla' here and there, but you somehow manage to keep it all on track until the 'Mar sin leat' or 'Chì mi a-rithist thu' at the end. I guarantee you, the first time that happens, you'll be walking on air.

If you look back through the blog you'll see my frustration in the earlier days with the entry 'Why won't you talk to me?'

However, as I toured the Islands doing my project for 'Saoghal na Gàidhlig' (Module 7 of Cùrsa Adhartais') I found Gàidhlig gu leòr. It seems that if you stick at it, and people start to get to know you and know your story, you'll get Gaelic wherever it is found.

Of course, nobody but nobody ever stops learning Gaelic. Once you hit conversational level, the next stage is to expand your vocab and eliminate your mistakes until you hit fluency. Yet Gaelic is such a rich language, even the most fluent and learned speakers will always admit that there is plenty more out there to learn. That's the joy of Gaelic - its richness beyond measure. If you keep at it, it's all there for the taking.

You just have to keep going at your own pace; whether that is three months or three years, it really doesn't matter how long it takes to get there, just as long as you simply keep going. That's all you have to do.

Short Courses at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. It's been a mad few months regarding my course. Not being the brightest button in the box, it's been a bit of a slog for me.

However, the academic year has now finished (woo-hoo!) and I can catch up on a few entries I've been meaning to write for weeks. Here's the first, and it's dedicated to the Short Courses at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye.

Whether you don't have one word of Gaelic, or whether you're a native speaker just wanting to brush up on your grammar and literacy, there's a short course for you. There are also diverse courses such as singing, fiddle, and photography, where Gaelic isn't necessary, but practiced in a Gaelic environment.

So what can you expect from a Short Course?

Well, a lot will depend on your tutor and your fellow class mates.

Don't fret too much about what level to go in at. It's pretty obvious to go in for Gaelic 1 if you've not got any Gaelic, or Gaelic 2, 3, 4, if you're going through the stages one by one, but if you're coming in from the cold of a distance-learning course, or if you want to refresh your rusty skills, it can be a bit of a challenge to know which level to go for .

Naturally, it makes sense to discuss any concerns with the short course team before you enrol, but if you do find your class too easy/too difficult/not your style, you can normally switch to a different class during the week if there is space. A friend of mine switched twice in a week!

Lesson periods are generally 75-90 minutes long, with two sessions in the morning and two in the afternoon. There are no lessons on a Wednesday afternoon (trust me, you'll be glad of the rest) and Friday afternoon is only one session and an early finish to allow people to get home.

You won't get bored in the evening as there is always something on. Monday to Wednesday there is an hour's 'Cearcall Còmhraidh' (Gaelic conversation) which is open to all, and there are events such as quizzes and concerts. Thursday evening is the grand 'Cèilidh' where classes perform a song, sketch, or poems that they've been learning throughout the week. Nobody is put 'on the spot', it's all very much a group effort and it's a really good craic.

As for accommodation, the rooms are all private with ensuite loo and shower facilities and a kitchenette either in the room or down the corridor; basic, clean, and comfortable. You can, if you wish, camp in a tent or stay in your camper van/motorhome/caravan, but be aware that there are no 'camper's facilities' apart from WCs and payable showers in the main building, and there is nowhere to empty chemical loo waste. Camping is, however, free of charge as long as you're attending a course, but the cost of hooking up to the mains if you wish to do so is prohibitive. You're better off charging your phone and laptop during the day while you're in class if you don't have a solar panel.

As well as being a Gaelic environment in which to immerse yourself, the college also has the advantage of a *stunning* location:

For many folks, the trip to Skye is a long one. As such, a lot of people do two, three, or even four consecutive courses and stay for up to a month. You're pretty much left to your own devices at weekends, so a car would be useful - or a friend with a car. Armadale is about a mile away so there is always the possibility to get the ferry to Mallaig and the Small Isles if you wish, or just take a walk in the local area. Sadly the library is closed at weekends which is a bummer.

Is there anything not to like? Well, by the time you add on accommodation and meals it can start to get a little spendy, but no more that you'd normally spend on a week's holiday. It's possible you may end up with classmates or a tutor that you don't get along with, but that could happen anywhere on any type of course. If you're that unhappy you can switch courses.

On one or two of the advanced courses I've been on there was homework to do, which took up the whole evening after a day's lessons, and prevented me from getting to the conversation sessions and the evening socials. I've now decided that that is really not on, and have made my thoughts clear to the powers that be. Remember that YOU are paying for the course and if there is something that you don't want to do, then simply don't do it. But I would hope that the homework element of the advanced classes has now been dropped.

But let's get back to the good stuff. On top of the ability to speak Gaelic all day, every day, there is also an amazing library to lose yourself in. It's not all high-brow academic stuff in there, being a transport geek and a bit of an Anorak, I particularly enjoyed the railway and ferry books.

Above all, attending a Short Course allows you to meet up with like-minded folk. People I've met at Sabhal Mòr have become firm friends. And those friends have been absolutely invaluable, especially during the 'low' periods that we all get at times. Whether it is practical help with the genitive case, getting together on Skype for conversation practice, or support for when the going gets tough, making such wonderful friends has been the most important part of every short course I've attended. I could not imagine my Gaelic studies without them.

You might not meet anyone you like first or even second time around, but do give the Short Courses a try. You won't realise it at the time, but your 'cuid Ghàidhlig' and your confidence in using it will soar.

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/en/cursaichean/cursaichean-goirid/

Come out of the closet!

The nervous teenage boy enters his parent's sitting room.

'Mum, Dad, I have something to tell you. I'm Gael.'

Mum bursts into tears. Dad gets angry.

'But...but why son? Was it something we did? I KNEW we should never have had that holiday in Barra in 2009.'

'It's just the way I am. I've been surpressing it long enough, and I can't hold back any more. I'm Gael.'

Mum dries her eyes. 'I should have guessed. You left your computer on once and I saw you'd been looking at dirty websites like learngaelic.net. I've heard you listening to 'Beag Air Bheag' podcasts through your headphones. I even found those disgusting magazines under your mattress. Yes, those Sabhal Mòr Ostaig course notes and prospectuses from those 'weekends away' when you pretended you were going to the city with your mates to get off your face on booze and drugs and end up in trouble with the Police. But they were all lies weren't they? You were sneaking off up to weekend schools in Skye, learning the Gaelic, playing the fiddle, reciting poetry, singing songs and other such disgusting behaviour. How could you? HOW COULD YOU?'


OK, so this is all a bit tongue in cheek, but I'm prompted to imagine this scenario by two separate thoughts.

First off, it's to help my own understanding of why someone from the South East of England feels such a strong affinity with the Highlands and Islands, and Gaelic, despite the lack of roots. Well, sometimes strength of feeling cannot be explained logically, it just IS. Think of the men and women 'trapped' in the 'wrong' bodies. Transexuals are often ridiculed, but I for one think that you'll not find a a stronger and a tougher band of people. These folks have such a strong feelings from within that they are prepared for the mental and physical battle that lies between the gender that they are born with and the gender at which they will finally be at peace. As someone who is very happy in my own skin, I don't really understand it, but that doesn't mean to say I don't respect and admire these folk. Live and let live and celebrate diversity.

So while I'm happy with my skin and who I am, I often feel like there is a Gael deep down inside me busting to get out. I don't understand it, but am taking on the tough battle to let it out. Thank goodness I don't have to go through painful surgery or psychological analysis.

Just like the transgender man living as a woman before the operation has to endure the jibes and sneers of the mob, the Englishman learning Gaelic has to endure the thinly-veiled racism of the anti-English brigade. References to the 'Auld enemy,' 'the Bad Side of the Border,' and far, far worse will always serve to remind me that I am alone in a place where people hate the place where I was born and brought up. Yet, rather than give it all up, us English folk learning Gaelic just have to shoulder it and get on with it. Yes, there are many aspects of English Culture, History, and Politics about which I am deeply unhappy, but that doesn't make me as an individual responsible for any of them. As for History... well, so much of that is placed in a romantic light by dreamers who forget about one crucially important factor, and that is context. Dreamers and romantics refer to historical events in a modern-day context, which skews fact and interpretation.  Do I hold my German friends accountable for the destruction of my corner of the country and the loss of life 100 and 75 years ago? No. Do they hold me accountable for Dresden and the like? No. We shall never forget, but we shall also move on.

As for 'coming out of the closet,' it still amazes me how many Gaelic speakers hide their language and culture. Of course, Gaels are notoriously polite, decent, and modest folk, and their lack of arrogance and selfishness is one of the main reasons that I find the whole culture so utterly amazing and wonderful. However, this in itself brings additional challenges for the learner.

Let's look at our friends in the Gay Community. A generation or two ago, even the most placid and peaceful men and women were faced with no option than to be vocal and visible. It was the only way to get their rights to be who they are accepted and integrated into wider society. There is still some way to go, but things are moving in the right direction. A generation or two ago, if a train driver announced he was gay in the messroom it could have ended in his being ostracised and cut off, excluded and lonely until possibly he ended up on a downward spiral. I say 'he', because women didn't drive trains then. Nowadays, if a train driver announced that he or she was gay, it would be about as exciting and controversial as what was on the menu at the staff canteen.

What has this to do with Gaelic? Well, there is just so much of it in the Closet, and that makes it difficult for the learner and the would-be learner to find it being used in everyday life. Bigots will always put down minority groups because bigots are ignorant, and ignorance promotes fear. Ignorance means that they don't understand it so they try to kill it. When cultures and lifestyles are dragged out into the open and life doesn't end because of it, ignorance gradually fades.

Right now, the only way for somebody to learn Gaelic as an adult is to do it through some kind of a course. Ùlpan is the least academic course, but these courses are few and far between, and they never seem to be consistent or structured in their occurrence. The only clear courses with a clear progression path are the academic ones, at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Scotland and a few other colleges and universitites in the UK.

However, on social media I have been following a few Gaels who are disparaging towards the 'academic' approach to Gaelic. It's true that when you're at Sabhal Mòr, you are surrounded by people who have the time, brain power, and financial means to devote to an Academic Course. It is a luxury not everyone can afford, and in a chat with other students, we voiced concern that Gaelic is becoming a Luxury Language for the Middle Classes.

But what are the options, when Gaels refuse to speak Gaelic outwith people they know?

I am on a bit of a personal mission to find Gaelic outside the classroom. I have searched for homes or farm stays where guests can stay for a week with a Gaelic-speaking family and pick up what they can. So far, I have not found any such thing. I am sure that there are many farms, B&Bs, cafes, and other social places where Gaelic is spoken, yet this fact is never advertised. Just like some places are 'Bikers Welcome' or 'Walkers Welcome', howabout a scheme where 'Gaelic Spoken' is used in marketing? It would make life a lot easier for us intermediate learners who are looking for opportunities to consolidate all those words and grammar that's jumbled about in our heads into real-life sentences outside the classroom.

I have found one - just one - B&B where Gaelic is not just spoken, but it is promoted. That B&B is on the Isle of Lewis, and tomorrow I will head on up there to check it out. When I phoned to book and spoke Gaelic to the landlady, she never once reverted to English, even when I struggled. Now THAT is the kind of thing I'm looking for! Stay tuned and I'll tell you how it goes. 

Where are you going with this?

'It's better to travel than to arrive' so the saying goes. Obviously a saying coined by someone who has never fought the M6 in order to get to Scotland.

But where am I going with learning Gaelic? What's the point?

Quite simply, if you look at the blog entry from a few days back ('Why is an Englishman learning Scottish Gaelic?') you'll see many of my motovations. However, it doesn't address what I want to acheive by all this study.

Having successfully completed An Cùrsa Inntrigidh at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, I'm now on my first year (third module) of An Cùrsa Adhartais, a two year distance learning course which takes a similar format to An Cùrsa Inntrigidh. Fingers crossed, in a little over a year's time I shall be conversational in my abilities.

An then what? There are options. Maybe I'll continue my studies at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and do something like Gaelic with Media Studies. Who knows.

In this consumerist and sometimes vacuuous world we live, people are often fixated with 'results' and 'goals'. There has to be some money-making or target-obssessive reason why you'd ever do something.

Do you know what? Knickers to all that. You can shove your corporate rubbish up your jumper.

It's lovely to do something that you enjoy and have absolutely no goal whatsoever. It's liberating, fun, and an utter joy to indulge in a spot of Gaelic learning just for the pure, simple, uncomplicated delight of enjoying the journey, and seeing where it ends up.

The Path to Learning - Part 2

 So where were we... ah yes, I'd tried 'Gaelic in 12 Weeks' and took about 12 weeks just to get through the first chapter. I could recite tables of pronouns but I still couldn't say anything remotely useful.

January 2013 I was once again in my beloved Hebrides, on an off-grid caravanning trip. That's right: Hebrides, January, Caravan, Off-grid. As bonkers as it sounds, it was amazing.


I was determined to get this Gaelic thing licked, and sought out a course.

After much research, only one course stood out, and that was with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye, doing a Distance Learning Beginner's Course called An Cùrsa Inntrigidh. I duly enrolled. Exceptionally, I did this in person as I was passing the college on my way home from the islands. When I got to the college and saw its amazing setting, my jaw dropped. I loved it from the second I entered the gates.


How An Cùrsa Inntrigidh Works

For starters, you can choose from 'Standard Track' or 'Accelerated Track'.

There are two considerations here, ability and timing: 

ABILITY

If you have *some* Gaelic and are confident you can handle a heavy workload, try the Accelerated Track. It's blooming hard work. I wanted to do Accelerated, but timing (see below) dictated Standard Track, and with hindsight I'm really glad I didn't do Accelerated. It would have been too hard.

TIMING

Looking ahead, the next course on from An Cùrsa Inntrigidh is An Cùrsa Adhartais (distance learning) or An Cùrsa Comais (full-time on campus). Both start at the beginning of the Scottish Academic Year, i.e. late August/September. Therefore, if (like me) you have missed the beginning of the academic year, you may as well start 'Standard Track' in January/February. This will take you through to the summer of the following year, leaving you in a good position at a good time to take your progression course.

You need to be aware that if you start Standard Track An Cùrsa Inntrigidh in September, you will finish the course then have a six-month wait to take your learning to the next level. Of course, you can do refreshers etc, but if your learning is standard (like me), you may as well start your learning in January and keep your head above water.


The course itself is structured by workbooks you download from a virtual 'Blackboard' and a weekly tutorial that you phone in to attend. It works like a conference call. Up to eight students and the tutor all call in and the spoken learning is done by phone. The tutor takes you through the work that you'll have done which he or she set the week previous.

Further information about the course may be found at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig's Website here.



At first it was all a bit intimidating. You have an induction week to make sure you know how everything works, and it's during this week I realised that this wasn't just some Adult Education Evening Class, this *really was* a proper University Foundation Course. The course itself was far more challenging than I had anticipated. I needed to spend about 8-12 hours a week on my Gaelic as I'm no natural learner. Some folks may get away with doing less, but if you scrimp on the course work, you'll soon be found out in tuturial. Besides, if you've paid good money and committed yourself to learning Gaelic, why would you then not do what you signed up to do?

One of the best parts of An Cùrsa Inntrigidh is the free weekend school that happens once a term. You pay only for accommodation and food, and of course your travel to/from Skye. I enjoyed three fantastic weekends during my 18 month course, despite never really ever having enough Gaelic to get by in any situation without reverting to English.  It was really worthwhile making the two day journey each way, as the course comes with one natural limitation: You never see your tutor, and some intonation is lost over the phone. To spend a 'real' weekend with Gaelic is a very, very useful thing to do.



There are other Gaelic courses out there, all of which you'll find on the learngaelic.net website. However, if you are serious about learning and cannot easily get to a college offering a good Gaelic course on a regular basis, then An Cùrsa Inntrigidh is, in my most humble opinion, the one to go for.

The Path to Learning

 
So you want to learn Scottish Gaelic? Bravo!

Right, that's enough about you, let's talk about me.

Only kidding...

I don't pretend to be any kind of authority on the subject, but what I can do is give you a few honest answers and pointers along the way.

If you're interested in learning the language, then your first point of call can only be one wonderful place:

learngaelic.net

Go and take a look. It's brilliant. You'll find all the info you need on courses and stuff, and in the meantime you can whet your appetite by trying to learn yourself using some of the FREE resources on offer through the website. Start off with the LearnGaelic Beginner's course you can do on your own computer, free of charge. I've just visited one of the lessons and who is the voice? Yup, it's the lovely Iain Urachadan.

You can also look at clips from the hugely successful TV programme 'Speaking Our Language'. Speaking Our Language (or, more to the point, Rhoda MacDonald the presenter) will be your friend throughout your journey of learning Gaelic, just like Iain Urchardan. You may not know these names now, but you will soon see them all over media if you stick with it.

My Gaelic Journey? Well, I'm glad you asked, thank you. Either learngaelic.net wasn't around when I first got interested in the language, or I didn't know it was around.


HOW NOT TO DO IT

Like many people I know, I thought I could reach fluency within three months with minimal financial outlay.

Wrong.

Like many of my fellow learners, I was enticed (on a CalMac ferry, if you must know) by a shiny shrink-wrapped course on the bookshelf in the Coffee Cabin called 'Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks'. You got a book and some CDs. What more could you need?

Now, I'd better explain here and now that I'm not very academic. There are those clever people who ARE academic, and their approach to learning a language is what I personally refer to as 'scientific'. These people learn vocab and grammar, put the two together, and make a sentence. I don't. I listen and mimic and quite often talk gibberish. But to my mind, listening and speaking is the way to go. Hey, it worked for me when learning English after popping out of the womb, and it worked too when I learned Dutch as an adult trialling a Total Immersion Program.

'Gaelic in 12 Weeks' is nothing like an intuitive, natural course. I know that what I am about to write will come back to haunt me some time in the future. No doubt the clever chap who wrote the course will end up marking one of my exam papers in the future and say; "Aha! This paper belongs to that Sassanach Dip-brain who dissed my 12 Week course!' and promptly award a Fail.  But...

Wading through Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks is drier than eating an entire box of Shredded Wheat. Toasted. Mixed with sand. With no liquid whatsoever. In the desert.

No doubt somebody, somewhere, has had the willpower to actually complete the whole course on their own. Maybe they even did it in 12 weeks. I imagine that that person had either nothing better to do in their life whatsoever and could devote every atom of time and willpower to doing it, OR it was the kind of person who doesn't drink, eats only grains and lentils, and has the willpower to get up every morning at 5.30am (including at the weekend) in order to complete their study before a delicious breakfast of Toasted Organic Wholemeal Sandal with a dandelion juice chaser.

This person is not me. I managed - just - to wade myself through one chapter in a month. It was a struggle of magnificent fortitude. I would open the book and cry. I'd listen to the voacb on the CDs and wince. A better plan of action was needed.


SERIOUS LEARNING

Once you've dabbled with the Beginner Pages on learngaelic.net or maybe even done a short course or two, you may decide to take your learning on to a more structured level. Enter Scotland's Gaelic College, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (SMO).

Just like Iain Urchardan and Rhoda MacDonald, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is something that nobody outwith the Gaelic-speaking community has ever heard of, and everyone within the Gaelic-speaking community knows as well and holds as dear as an old friend or neighbour.

Serious learners end up at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, either doing Short Courses in the school holidays, part-time distance-learning courses (An Cùrsa Inntrigidh/An Cùrsa Adhartais), and some even take the plunge and do THE be-all and end-all Gaelic language course, An Cùrsa Comais.

I'll tell you what I did after the unsuccessful Ryvita-esque 'Gaelic in 12 Weeks' dabble next time.