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Learn to speak Irish effectively
Frequently Asked Questions
I offer one free, 15-minute online Irish lesson on Skype and Zoom without any charge. I realize that learning a new language is a time commitment. By offering you a free lesson you get the opportunity to know me better.
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A free trial online Irish lesson is only available to first-time Students. This free lesson is both an evaluative session, as well as an informative one. My goal is to understand your level and your desire in learning Irish!
No. I don’t require you to buy specific books. However, I do offer material for classes.
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Lessons will start on the hour and last for 45minutes. Lesson start times will be agreed on at the time of booking.
Log in to your Skype account 5 minutes before the class time and wait for my call. Once it’s time for the class to begin, I will call you. You will see an “answer” and a “reject” button. Click on the “answer” button to start the lesson.
How to Participate in a Zoom Meeting. I will send Invite by email one minute before the class time. Just click on the invitation to join the meeting.
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I believe in the most important method to teaching a language is conversational.
This is also the aspect where most students suffer vs. reading and writing. Thus I will focus on the building blocks to making your conversational skills in Irish reach new heights.
These include teaching new vocabulary, pronunciations, grammar, and colloquial speaking habits – the latter is especially difficult to learn in a textbook!
Just like a conversation, a teaching session is dynamic and will go as slow or fast as the student needs before they move on.
Beginner Irish students will learn things like understanding and saying frequently used expressions (ie. How are you? What is your name? Where is the bathroom?)
Advanced Irish students can express their ideas and feelings articulately, and understand various complex situations.
Lastly, students preferring to focus on a subject such as “traveling to Ireland”, the lessons will focus on learning how to deal in everyday situations when traveling in Gaeltacht region
I will assess your language level and discuss your specific learning goals during the trial session. I will then customize the lessons based on this.
The fact of the matter is that everyone learns at different paces, and has different learning goals. You have the flexibility on focusing on certain topics, grammatical points etc, in which you are having trouble with.
I will try to speak as much Irish as possible during practice and instruction.
Your brain will learn best when it is stretched in a new capacity, in this case, speaking a higher-level of Irish!
There will be times where English may be used for complete understanding, but you will find that this will be less and less as you improve.
At the end of the day, “learning” a language is communicating verbally. This is what I focus on, in a 1-on-1 environment.
Paraic Donoghue actively encourages student progress and commitment to self-study, but cannot take responsibility for lack of individual progress.
Classes start punctually, and so does the end of the lesson. The best thing to do is to email me letting me know how long you will be late.
Consistency is key. If you want to become fluent quickly, you must practice the Irish language every day.
For maximum effectiveness, lessons should be held as often as possible. So deciding how often to take lessons really depends on your goals.
Things happen and sometimes you need to tend to priorities. I ask for 24 hours notice in event of a cancellation. Students who fail to provide 24 hours advanced notice will be charged in full for that scheduled lesson. No more than 2 cancellations per lesson is considered a forfeited lesson.
Paraic Donoghue holds the right to cancel lessons due to illness, emergencies or at times of technical difficulties and where this occurs, Paraic Donoghue will reschedule the lesson, or when this is not possible, issue a full refund.
I will discuss a schedule with each student to accommodate your individual needs. From time to time, I will not be available to teach (Some weekdays and holidays etc.) but you will be informed of this well in advance.
Lessons will take place on a date and time suitable to both student and teacher, taking into account international time zones.
Lesson start times will be agreed on at the time of booking.
A paid student will set the first lesson with me immediately after purchase. A great idea would be to set a weekly schedule for yourself.
45 Minutes. This is an optimal length as it allows for a lot to be covered and for students to maintain their concentration levels.
It’s also short enough to squeeze into students busy lives! I often work back-to-back lessons and may need the few minutes for a quick breather in between lessons.
This also helps make sure that the lesson does not overlap with another.
No. The class fee is all you pay. I accept Paypal payments where you have the freedom to use popular credit cards.
Paraic Donoghue requires the payment is received in advance of each lesson package.
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