Gàidhlig Lessons with Scot AnSgeulaiche

Aimed less at academic fluency and more towards the visitor to the Gaelteachd being able to spot the difference between an "Inver" and a "Ben", to read a road sign, to know how to say "good morning" and "thank you" to a native. What is the significance of there being two colour-names for red and three for white in this most ancient of living languages? The course aims to increase the visitor's enjoyment and cultural understanding of a trip to the Gàidhlig speaking parts of the world. A fuller list of topics is at the page foot.

A video excerpt from lesson three

Course format

Each Cursa (course) is 5 lessons over 10 weeks, beginning with Cursa 1 and becomnig more advanced with 2, 3 etc.
Each of the five lessons within the Cursa is in two parts: an online video and a Zoom tutorial.
The Lesson Video is about 30 minutes, released on a Saturday for solo study.
A week later there is a 30-40 minute Zoom tutorial of 1-3 students where pronunciation can be practiced and questions asked.
Tutorial times are arranged to suit the participants.
There is usually some homework-prep between Lesson Video and Zoom Tutorial, about one hour's work.
Course cost (5 lessons) is £60.
Next courses start Saturday 12th November 2021 (sign-on closes 5th November)

How to join or be kept informed

To join a course:

To be kept informed of future course starts:

To be kept informed of future course start-dates, join the mailing list below and select the "Gàidhlig language" option.

Course Content

Cursa 1, some topics covered in the 10 weeks:

Conversation starters and greetings
The meanings behind 12 place names
Student submitted place names for translation
What is your name and where are you from?
Translating a story from Gàidhlig to English
Colours in the Celtic mind
Going to the Pub

Cursa 2, five lessons / ten weeks covering:

Place names associated with Fairies & students finding more on maps
The Past Tense
Translate the next part of the story from English to Gàidhlig
Learning a Gàidhlig song

Cursa 3:

The complete guide to Gàidhlig pronunciation
Putting everything we've done into every Tense
Learning a traditional story in Gàidhlig to tell
Walking a town and describing what we can see

Cursa 4:

Completing the traditional fairy tale we have been studying
Much use of improvised conversation in lessons to build ease of use

Cursa 5:

Understanding Scottish Culture through Gàidhlig poetry
More about understanding place names, Norse and Gàidhlig
Much use of improvised conversation in lessons to build ease of use
The interesting names of animals in Gàidhlig. What's a Sea-Pig?

Cursa 6:

Recap, recap, recap!
Listening to native speakers and practicing comprehension
Fine tuning pronunciation through conversation with fellow students
Reading a Gàidhlig folk Tale, preparing questions about it in Gàidhlig to ask fellow students
Answering novel questions in Gàidhlig