Dia duit gach duine, san alt seo féachfaimid ar Léamhthuiscint Gaeilge na Sraithe Sóisearaí. Is tairbheach an cumas teanga a léamh go háirithe maidir le nuacht, comharthaí agus biachláir a thuiscint.
Hi everyone, in this article, we will look at the Junior Cycle Irish Reading Comprehension. The ability to read a language is especially beneficial in understanding news, signs and menus.
"“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.”
- George R.R. Martin
What Will I Have to Read in Junior Cycle Irish?
There are two different syllabi for the Irish junior cycle, L1 schools which are Irish medium schools and L2 which is for English medium schools. For this article, we are going to focus on the English medium school, which is really introducing the language to students who are not experienced in speaking it or staying at in everyday life both at home and at school.
You're reading for the Irish junior cycle starts in first-year, where you will read the following:
- short stories
- poetry
These are a nice introduction to understanding the language visually. Second and third-year students will choose texts to study in the following genres:
- short stories
- drama or novel
- poetry/song.
Throughout the Second and third year of the junior cycle Irish course student will be required to read a minimum of:
- 2 short stories
- 1 play (complete)
- 5 poems/songs
- 1 novel (complete) higher level only*
As previously mentioned, these are only the reading requirements for L2 schools. There is much more reading material for L1 schools.
Reading offers students a wider range of vocabulary and grammar, it essentially supports and feeds the brain with the correct language structures.
How to Develop your Irish Comprehension Skills Before the Exam
"Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things, but learning another way to think about things."
- Flora Lewis
There are many ways to try and improve your reading for the comprehension questions in the exam some of which include:
- Using a dictionary. There’s a myth that says you can’t do well at comprehension questions unless you develop your overall ability in Irish. Not true! Every time you work with a past paper for comprehension questions you should highlight the words you don’t understand, get out a dictionary and learn them.
- Using your own Irish. Even if you don’t have great Irish you should try and focus on re-wording the answers rather than repeating the text. A small change in wording is all you will need to get more marks. But remember, if you need to it’s better to quote directly from the text than leave an answer blank.
- Always, reading more than once. First, read the questions. Next, read the comprehension. Using a coloured highlighter, highlight the sentences where you think the answers are. Then reread the questions, which will tell you which paragraph the answer is in. Look closely at that paragraph and the question.
- Read at home. By even just reading the Irish news headlines one per day or going online and reading a short story and Irish you are getting yourself the ability to understand the language better and be more confident when it comes to exams.
Although reading may be a source of frustration at first, it allows students to engage with their teacher cultivating a rich learning experience. Many researchers have focused on the positives of why books are an essential part of a language curriculum, especially for kids. To put it bluntly, Reading is an important part of language learning because it helps you develop other related skills like grammar, vocabulary, and writing. Reading allows language learners to explore topics that they love and stories that engage them.
What Questions are in the Junior Cycle Irish Reading Comprehension?
“If you don't have time to read, you don't have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
― Stephen King
The reading comprehension consists of a text with five questions to be answered.
Students are then asked two questions related to one of the novels they will have studied. For example, students could be asked a question like the one below:
"RTÉ is going to make a film of one of the novels you have studied but it is not satisfied with the ending. Write a different ending for the novel to make it suitable for a film."
After another short comprehension test (you will be given an article, diary entry or short story to read and answer questions on), students are then quizzed on their selected poem. This is followed by a picture comprehension section, and then a question on their chosen play.
Why is it so Important to Read in the Irish Language?
“Only the very weak-minded refuse to be influenced by literature and poetry.”
- Cassandra Clare
There are so many reasons why it is vital to read in the language you are trying to learn. Below are my TOP 3 REASONS TO READ IN IRISH:
- Expand your vocabulary - This is one of the most obvious benefits of reading in any language. Reading is a good way to learn new words. Books, articles or any other reading materials are unlimited sources of words to learn and new phrases to remember.
- Put vocabulary into context - Another benefit of reading is that it allows you to practice your target language in context. That’s because words and phrases are never isolated in books and articles. New vocabulary is always surrounded by other words and ideas that help you understand it, build connections to it in your brain and remember it more easily.
- Improve your language skills - When you learn a language, you need to learn four main skills. You need to understand what you hear. You need to be able to speak. Of course, you should understand what you read and you should be able to write. It goes without saying that the more you read, the better you will understand what you are reading. So it’s not surprising that when you read a lot, you improve your writing.
In summary, reading is a great way to learn Irish because it allows you to learn and reinforce your vocabulary. You learn the vocabulary in its context, together with other relevant vocabularies, and you also get the most frequently used and useful words. Moreover, perhaps even more importantly, reading is fun and that keeps you going! That is why reading books is such a good way to learn languages.
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