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Are you just starting your language learning journey, or have you been working on your Irish for a while now? Either way this article should be a great help to you, filled with tips and tricks, as well as information on online language learning tools that will take your learning to the next level.
There are many different levels you will come across, and to see some of the differences between beginner and intermediate Irish, check out our informative guide!
Consistency is key when it comes to learning a language, and it helps to work on daily habits to make sure you keep topping up your fluency level in Irish. Repetition is the way to make sure you cement these habits into your daily schedule, and this article will include plenty of techniques you can adapt to your benefit!
When it comes to vocab retention, you need to both actively learn, and try to do some things to learn subconsciously, read on to find out how!
Irish is a growing language, with plenty of real world benefits, it is a very rewarding way to spend your time!
How Can I Make Notes of the Words I Learn? Your Online Notepad Quizlet
The more words you know, the more words you can use and this is key when it comes to communicating with native speakers in Irish. The vocab at your disposal will allow you to be comfortable when you speak and this is something to focus on!
To become fluent, you need to always add to your vocab list, for other tips, why not check out our guide to improving Irish fluency!
When you learn new Irish words, you need to keep track of them, making sure you commit them to memory. For every word you learn, you will have to go over it a few times to remember meaning, spelling and your Irish accent.
One very efficient way to do this is with Quizlet, the free online note taking service. Essentially, it is an online notepad where you input new words you have learned and their meaning. You can group these into different sections, based on themes, or whatever you like to make sure you know where to find them!
Quizlet also has a built in dictionary, so you can keep saving new words to your Irish vocab list as you go on, without having to carry around notebooks! As I mentioned above, once you make note of a new word, you have to make sure you retain it, and Quizlet lets you do this with frequent tests to see if you have remembered what you have learned! Make sure to also be mindful of your Irish accent when doing this.
Looking For Irish Lessons on the Go? Download Duolingo
Duolingo is the next online language learning tool that I would like to talk about, and one that you have likely heard of! This is one of the most popular free language apps out there, and a great way to practice and retain your Irish vocabulary.
This works similarly to Quizlet, in that you basically have short daily tests that go over what you have just learned, helping you to commit those words to long term memory. It is available on desktop, but also in app form, so you can take it with you wherever you go.
It essentially starts out from beginner level, though if you are a bit more advanced, you can take a quick test to jump some levels. You will be constantly tested on the same new words you learn, usually surrounding the same theme, and these words will be saved by Duolingo into a list that you can check anytime!
This app is a bit of an all-rounder, so you will be focusing on vocabulary, grammar, speaking, writing and listening, so not only will you know the meaning of a word, after a while you will know the pronunciation too.
Learn how to build healthy daily habits to help with your writing over on one of our other articles!
The only thing this app is really missing is the fact the speech is a bit slower than a native Irish speaker, and you can’t talk back in real time, however it is as good a free service as you can get, with a really attractive interface!
Keep a Diary!
This sounds very simple, but it has been a game changer for me in my personal language learning journey! By keeping a diary in Irish, you will have to think about what you did that day, describing your day to day activities in Irish, aside from helping with spelling, it also helps you remember words.
No two days are the same, so you should always aim to add some new words when you can. If you don’t know how to say a word, get a dictionary, and after a while you will have expanded your vocab bit by bit!
Just be careful to always check your writing, as you don’t want to fall into bad or incorrect habits! Add a page or two to your diary every night and you will notice a difference!
A diary isn't just key for writing, but also reading. We would recommend checking our informative article on boosting reading comprehension!
Speak with Native Irish Speakers on Tandem
One of the best ways to retain vocab that you have learned, is to actively use it! Of course, many of the ways mentioned above help with this, like keeping a diary and practicing writing them out on Duolingo, but they are missing one thing: Speaking in real life.
Using the language you have learned is the hardest step, but the one in which you will see the most growth. It can be daunting at first, and you may be afraid to make mistakes, nut trust me this is how you grow as an Irish language speaker. Every mistake you make you learn from, and it is a great way to catch bad habits before they start to form!
Ideally, you could go to an Irish speaking region and full immerse yourself, but this simply isn’t practical for most, especially in these times. Tandem offers a solution to this problem, giving you access to native speakers with whom you can have conversations online and practice your Irish!
Tandem is a language exchange app that lets you pair with Irish speakers, among other languages, all over the country and the world. And it is available on android and iOS.
Making your profile is easy, and free. And once your profile is verified you can start learning. On your profile you state what languages you can speak, and what languages you would like to learn, and this means you can help people with their language of choice too! Maybe someone wants to learn English and will teach you Irish!
There are a few ways you can talk to people in the app, text, video or call. So you can ease yourself into it. This also means you are getting an all-round learning experience, which will help you with your vocab retention.
Not just vocab though! This will test your listening skills! If you want more ways to test this, read our guide to getting daily listening practice!
All that being said, I would certainly recommend using the call feature, where you can put into practice all your new vocab!
Join the Milions of Users on Superprof
Another brilliant way to help with your Irish vocab retention is to have your very own Irish tutor, and these are available on Superprof. Superprof is an online education tool where you can search for and work with tutors all over the world!
It isn’t just Irish, they cover all kinds of languages, subjects and skills, but thy have a large number of Irish tutors available near you. You just start by searching based on location and experience, and then you get the chance to talk to them to discuss your needs and they will tailor a plan to suit you.
Having a tutor encourages you to practice on your weakness and keeps you learning more words every day. Sometimes you won’t be able to spot your own bad habits, and having an experienced tutor helps iron out these little mistakes!
Daily or weekly practice really is the best way to help you with vocab retention, and having a tutor makes sure you stick to a schedule, and sets aside a few hours a week where you can think, write and talk in Irish!
Superprof is the choice of millions all over the world, with over 15 million users worldwide, so you can be sure you are getting help from experienced Irish tutors. Indeed you can see all of their experience before you sign up with them, so there will be no surprises.
The tutors are flexible too, meaning they can be offline or online, depending on what suits you both! There is an option to try before you buy too, with the first lesson being free, and after that it is very affordable with some tutors charging just 10 euro per hour!
Repetition is key when it comes to vocab retention, it is not enough to write down the words, you also need to know the meaning, pronunciation and how to use to use it in a sentence. To do this you need to be disciplined, and combine lots of different ways of learning.
This article includes plenty of helpful tips and tricks that can really help you better retain your Irish vocab. Good luck on your language learning journey!
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