Rosetta Stone

The Holy Grail of language learning, but how good is it? I bought three months worth so that I could find out. One of the best things I have ever done for my language learning....however....I don't think you could use it if you were a complete beginner. You need some Irish before you take it or else it would all be just a confused mess.
There is no English...at all. It uses Munster Irish. Most of the sentences you can figure out for yourself because they have introduced you to the vocabulary you need before you even get the sentences. I have put a lot of them in Google Translate (which, by the way, is a LOT better than it used to be) just to make sure I have the sentence translated exactly right but most of the time, I don't have to.
It all starts with a Core Lesson that introduces you to the sentences and vocabulary in that lesson. I write them all down and put them into Quizlets. I am on Unit 4 now and there was about 115 sentences/vocabulary in the first lesson on that unit. There are 4 lessons in each unit. So it is a lot.. but I put them in Quizlets of about 20 each which makes it manageable and learnable. I learn them all and I make sure the Quizlets are set to write in Irish and English  and I use the Learn feature so I have to get them right 4 times before I can call it learned.
After the Core Lesson there is Pronunciation, Reading, Grammar, Speaking, Review, Listening and Vocabulary. It basically give you the same sentences in different ways. You write them, read them, fill in the blanks etc. You would think with all that repetition that you wouldn't need to do the Quizlets but, trust me, you do need them. If you really want to learn that is.
At the end of the 4th lesson there is a Milestone part. Where they give you a sentence and you are supposed to be able to say the next one. They don't use the same pictures as the lesson and it is nearly impossible to figure out what they want you to say in this section. I have found them so frustrating and useless that I totally skip them now. They aren't immersing you enough for you to be able to do this lesson.
Over all it is a really good program. I am learning tons. Where it is really lacking is on the Extended Learning section. It has Play, Talk, Stories and Audio Companion.
The Audio Companion is just the Rosetta Stone app for your phone. You get the exact same thing..only on your phone.
As for Talk, I haven't really tried it. You talk with people in Irish from around the world while playing game together...I don't want to talk with strangers like that...not yet anyway.
The Play section is pretty much the same thing except you can play one of 4 games by yourself or with a stranger. I have only played them by myself but I have to say, they aren't real interesting games, very basic and boring. Play the Quizlet ones, they are a lot more fun.
The Stories is, to me,  the most useful. They give you a little, very short "story" (sometimes just a paragraph) to read, then they read it to you and then there is a part where you can actually read the whole thing yourself (yeah, good luck with that). I mostly just read and listen. They start out with 3-4 the first few units, then they trickle down to 2 and then just one story for each unit, as if they got tired of making them. I guess with a pay program that is as famous as Rosetta Stone, I expected more- at LEAST 5-6 stories for each unit so that you really get some practice, but no, as it gets harder...you get one story. Also in the part where they read it to you...they talk really fast. Faster than you would speak normally, I think. It is not helpful.
There are also Live Tutoring sessions that you get now and then but have to pay for. Nah, not me, not yet anyway.
It sounds like a lot of negatives but no program is going to get you to fluency. You have to combine a lot of them and do a lot of extra to get enough vocabulary to actually speak the language, especially such a difficult language as Irish.
Rosetta Stone is definitely worth the money. I'm sure I'll have to buy 3-6 more months to get to the end of the 12 units but I'm definitely going to finish.
Other notes on the program: They use a lot of verbal nouns- running, reading, watching etc. and not a lot of actual verbs (at least in the 4 units I have done) but I think it is easier to learn where you don't have to focus on trying to conjugate verbs all the time. You get a verb now and then and you learn it to say I or he/she did something. It works so far. I really needed work on those verbal nouns anyway.
They build on what you have already learned. You might think you would forget what you had learned 2 units ago when they will put in a few sentences using what you learned then along with what you are learning now. For instance: a few units ago we learned how to say something is "close-gar" or "far- i bhfad" from something else. Two units later we are learning about shopping and stores and you get " Where is the bakery?", "The bakery is close to the bridge", "The hardware store is close to the park."
Grammar rules have become understandable with use. I used to get so frustrated on Duolingo trying to remember all those grammar rules. When to use lenition or eclipsis, when is it "his book","her book" or "their book". It is amazing how with enough use and figuring it out for yourself that these things become a lot more natural to you. I'm getting it and I never thought I would.
So do get Rosetta Stone if you already have some Irish. It will help immensely if you just put some effort into it.

And We're Back to Duolingo

So I haven't been back to Duolingo in quite some time. I stopped by now and then but never got serious about it as the Irish course was always way too difficult.... and then they changed it. They must be listening to what people are saying cause they did a big overhaul on the whole system. There is now a lot more repetition. You can't go through the lessons nearly as fast but it is a good thing. You have to go over the lessons several times before it levels up and then it has to level up 5 times to turn it "golden". I am only about a third of the way down my tree now but I feel like I am actually learning now. 

But one of the best things is that the people who were so nasty on the forums are gone. You can go on there, leave a comment, and nobody comes and leaves you an ugly comment back. Of course, they aren't there any more for explanations either but most of the explanations are there in the forum already anyway. I guess they didn't like the changes but I think they are wonderful. 

I have to say though, I don't think you should ever use Duolingo by itself. It doesn't explain anything fully and you will just end up frustrated. Buy Irish textbooks (the kind the kids use in Ireland). They have exercises for you to do that will help a LOT. Also get a grammar book. My next post will be on the one I have begun using. And above all read books in Irish and listen to Irish language shows. It will help you immensely. 

Quizlet- Learning Irish

I myself have created a "class" on Quizlet called Learning Irish . It is basically a flash card type of class and it has no sound (because the sound part is not free on Quizlet) but it has really helped me learn my vocabulary from the Future Learn courses and I thought it might helps others as well. You can use them as regular flash cards or you can use the "write" option so that you can learn to spell your words as well. (They have changed the flash card option so it does several different things and keeps at you until you learn the word. SO much better!)
I add to my Quizlet class whenever I get the chance or whenever I am learning something new and need flash cards. Anyone can join the class that wants to use the card. I don't get anything for doing this, no one pays me for it.

Just a note--I shared it with Duolingo and one of the former nasty people on the Irish course (they all seem to have left) pointed out (very nastily I might add) that one of them was wrong.  Well hell, I'm not perfect. If you see one wrong, let me know. I haven't found any others so her trying to say it wasn't a good resource just because it had one wrong....isn't exactly the case. I really hate people who think they are so damn high and mighty.

Future Learn

Future Learn  had several little Irish language courses. I think they are great if you have the time to sit around and memorize vocabulary because that is what they mostly are, pages and pages of vocabulary and then a page now and then on Irish language history. They only give you a certain amount of time to view the course- free- and if you want to view it after that you have to pay for it. I have saved most of the vocabulary in quizlets and have taken some time to learn several of them. It has helped my understanding immensely but is basically a lot of memorizing. I have now gotten to 105 and they are reviewing some which is really helpful. I think the courses are fine if you have time on your hands and don't mind memorizing but I wouldn't recommend them to beginners. I think you will get burned out really fast if you are a beginner trying to do them.

The Living Language Series

I bought the whole Living Language series on Irish a while back. It comes with 3 books, CD's and a notebook of paper.

I bought it because I heard it had lots of writing exercises for each lesson and I really feel that writing exercises are important for me. I can't learn how to spell anything if I don't have writing exercises, just like I can't memorize words unless I know how to pronounce them. It is just the way my brain works.
I am about half way through the first book and have found it to be pretty good. Not really as many exercises as I had hoped for but a lot more than you get with some other books. It seems to build one lesson on the other but you do have to study the vocabulary.
The only flaw I see in it is that it tells you the prepositions but doesn't give exercises for them, it just kind of glides on past them and you see a preposition later once in a while. Prepositions are not my strong suit so I had hoped to get more practice at them but it isn't going to happen with these books.
I listen to the CD's in my car and that has helped me to understand what I hear quite a bit better. It's a pretty good series to get and I recommend it.

Mango

Found this one just yesterday. Mango. Was very excited when I saw they had an Irish course. It is free if your library has paid for it and ours had. This is definitely a great place for beginners as the lessons are pretty easy. They only introduce one or two new words at a time and then they connect them with other words you have already learned to make sentences. And yes, it is very basic stuff but I still have learned how to say two new things in the first seven lessons and, unlike Duolingo, they are useful things. It has a LOT of repetition but we all need that in order to learn a language but it is a little boring if you already know most of the words. Still, I am hoping it gets harder and I learn more as I go along and even if I don't, it is still reinforcing vocabulary that I have had before but haven't used in a while. What I would love for it to add is a writing component. All of these courses except IsFeiderLiom are missing that element and even IsFeiderLiom only has very limited writing. I think writing the words yourself is really the key to learning how to spell them. Anyone can recognize a word when they see it but that doesn't mean you can spell it.
Anyway, check out Mango for some reinforcement on what you may already know and to add a little vocabulary and if you are a complete beginner, this is definitely the place to start.

Great Video!

https://www.facebook.com/northernvisionsnvtv.belfast/videos/1068271089946227/

Everyone should watch this video on how the west Belfast Gaeltach got started. Great video in Gaeilge but with subtitles.