In response to the inquiries from parents during meetings, such as “How can I assist my child?”, Caitríona de Róiste, a post-primary educator from Co Kildare, took the initiative to revamp and improve Studybase.com. This resourceful Irish language learning platform was originally constructed by her father, Brendan, in 2007.
Made available are five-minute interactive sessions pitched at parents and children, offered in an engaging, visually stimulating educational manner.
Born and raised in Leixlip amongst post-primary educator parents, de Róiste grew up speaking Irish and attended Irish-medium academic institutions, leading to her being “immersed in Irish” throughout her formative years.
Upon attaining her certification in teaching, she alternated working in Irish and English language schools. This variety of environments enabled her to discern and comprehend the varied requirements of both students and their parents.
“Often, when someone grows up speaking Irish or they are constantly exposed to the language, they do not perceive the obstacles encountered by those who are not native speakers,” she explained. The challenges can indeed be daunting or even terrifying for them.
Having spent a good fourteen years as a full-time educator, de Róiste recognised the divergence in the instruction of the Irish language between Irish-medium schools and English-medium institutions.
“In schools where English was primarily used, I taught Irish as a language. On the other hand, it was treated as a subject in Irish-medium institutes. The two experiences were poles apart,” she stated.
In the context of students learning the Irish language in school, educators regularly encounter pupils who have not had any previous exposure to Irish. Conversely, there are those who have benefited from supportive households and primary school teachers well-versed in the language. However, it has been observed that a substantial proportion of students aren’t exposed to the language outside the confines of their school. This lack of grounding often poses challenges when preparing for their Leaving Certificate exams, given that they aren’t evaluated orally in Irish during their Junior Cycle.
“Assessing the effectiveness of our approach and asking ourselves what we can do to increase success rates is crucial,” stressed De Roiste, adding that the lower-than-expected language acquisition rates amongst students, despite good teachers, are disappointing. According to her, the assessment methods at the Junior Cycle level do not cover the scope of the language, raising questions on how teaching can be adjusted for practical usage.
De Roiste also shared her frustration about the situation and explained how it motivated the reshaping of Studybase, through the creation of novel courses. This programme was initially a passion project for her father, Breandán de Róiste, who self-taught coding and made significant strides in the field of Irish language.
With a background as a professional translator fluent in Irish, Breandán established a summer college, Riocard Barrett College in Aughrim. De Roiste fondly reminisced about accompanying him to invite local residents to receive students; a memory that she holds particularly dear. Despite Gael Linn taking over the endeavour, Breandán continued his passion project, using his coding abilities to develop an online grammar course.
De Róiste himself found her father’s platform to be an engaging way to teach students. After her father’s passing in 2020, the platform remained dormant until she decided to dedicate her efforts to it in 2021. While the process took approximately one and a half years, she put great thought into modernising and revolutionising the teaching methods.
Leveraging her background in English and Irish medium schools, De Roiste designed new courses, thereby expanding the series offered by Studybase. Her innovative courses were conceived with the aim of making the teaching and learning of the Irish language a more engaging and holistic process.
I initiated my journey in the world of teaching by conducting a ‘Basic Irish for Parents’ course, and then proceeded to conduct a course titled ‘How do You Say…’, aimed at secondary school pupils in classes five to two. I subsequently offered a course for the leaving certificate named ‘Leaving Certificate Gaeilge’. In all these initiatives, I modernised my father’s essays, enhancing the quality and adding video references like ‘Oisín in the Land of Youth’.
Observing individuals similar to my spouse, who studied Irish at school yet scarcely use it, inspired me to create the ‘Irish for Parents’ course. My firm belief is that you don’t necessarily need to be fluent in Irish to utilise the language capably, a fact manifested by people such as Paul Mescal.
The principal objective behind Studybase is to make Irish language lessons accessible to both parents and students, irrespective of their proficiency in the language. I was fortunate to be brought up interacting in Irish, which is an opportunity not everyone gets. My aim is to provide everyone this chance, irrespective of their age or knowledge of the language.
Together, we are striving to make Irish more accessible and this is the focus of Studybase. Further information can be sought at studybase.com
The annual bilingual festival, held in memory of celebrated authors Liam and Tomás Ó Fhlaithearta, Féile na bhFlaitheartach 2024, will be based on the theme of ‘Internationalism’ this year and will take place in Inis Mór, Árainn, over the weekend. Festivities will kick off at Kilmurvey House, near the Flanders’ birthplace.
The gathering will include talks by an Irish Human rights monitor and a Palestinian social activist reflecting on the prevailing situation in their countries. The housing crisis in Gaeltacht areas will also be highlighted, with a representative from Bánú na Gaeltachta addressing the issue.
Additionally, a play by Mícheál Ó Conghaile titled Dúmhál, based on a short story by Liam Ó Flaithearta, will be enacted by Cumann Drámaíochta Chois Fharraige.
Eimear Ní Dhonnchadha will present a selection from Liam Ó Flaithearta’s ‘The Black Soul’, whilst Aoibhínn Ní Dhioráin is set to recite a part of Liam Uí Fhlaithearta’s concise tale ‘Emigrating’, a narrative depicting the harsh realities of life in the Gaeltacht previously.
The twelfth annual summer festival will be presided over by Liam and Tomás Ó Fhlaithearta on August 24th and 25th.
For additional details, please visit facebook.com/OFlahertySociety/ or email [email protected].