Irish on Your Own

by Eamonn O'Donaill

The most complete Irish course available today, this text/audio program is ideal for those who plan to travel to Ireland or who want to get in touch with their Irish roots. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0844225967
• ISBN13: 9780844225968
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 251 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Best way to get started

If you are just tackling Irish for the first time, you cannot go wrong with this program. It is a clear step up from the Teach Yourself Irish program, which seems disjointed, and is more suited for beginners than the Micheal O' Siadhail program, Learning Irish. Both may be worthwhile eventually, but a beginner in Irish requires clarity above all else, and this program does a great job of taking the intimidation out of learning Irish. Irish On Your Own gradually works you into spelling and pronounciation, and the chapters are short so as not to be frustrating. The layout is clear, filled with pictures and illustrations to literally illustrate various points. After the 30 chapters, there is a portion of the book called "useful information" which helps you make use of your new language skills when you get to Ireland. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

IRISH ON YOUR OWN

THIS WAS MADE SIMPLE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND. I THINK IT IS AN EASY WAY TO LEARN A LANGUAGE. I WOULD PUT THE TAPE ON IN THE CAR WHILE DRIVING, AND AT HOME I WOULD READ THE BOOK AND FOLLOW LESSONS WITH HEADSET ON. I FIRST BOUGHT ANOTHER BOOK WITH TAPES, WRITTEN BY M.S. I DON'T WISH THAT BOOK ON ANYONE.....

Great Beginners Intro to Irish

Compared to most of the 'travel-focused' language courses available, Irish on Your Own is a welcome change. The lessons are clear, and build on one another very well; the examples in the book and on tape are presented in a normal, 'everyday' atmosphere. Many different speakers, and many examples of pronunciation on the tapes outweigh the lack of pronunciation guidelines in the book (while the english translation is always given, it's often hard to puzzle out just how bhfuil is pronounced 'will', for example.) It does make it harder to learn written Irish; however, this course is not meant to teach you anything beyond conversation, I do not think. New words are presented as part of normal conversations, and are introduced a few at a time, and they are presented at normal speaking speed. Many other taped courses leave the learner with a painfully slow understanding of the language, and they often cannot function in a natural conversation. This is not a problem with the examples on the tapes. The book does present some grammer, although it is very low-key. It also doesn't address spelling or other peculiarities of the langugage well. However, for a casual speaker, these are probably not necessary. If you are looking for an indepth, serious study of Irish, then O'Siadhail's 'Learning Irish' is a good, although more daunting, choice. Irish on You Own is in the Ulster dialect, but understanding the other two main dialects is not that difficult. The lessons do not point out the differences in most cases. I'd definitely recommend this. It was my first introduction to Irish, and I was comfortable with the language very quickly--enough to hold simple conversations with confidence in my pronunciation and ability to communicate. A wonderful choice!!

Great Irish Course - probably the best for beginners!

This is a great product! Very professionally done. As has been mentioned elsewhere, it is definitely the Ulster dialect of Irish, but that shouldn't scare off anyone. The book, and audio are very learner-friendly. It is a great book/audio combo to start out with in your adventure of learning Irish. I only wish that the video tapes that make up the originally aired TV program from which these audio tapes came were available for purchase. Short of that, this is best Irish course to begin studying Irish with that I have come across.

Accessible and Academic All at Once

Originally published as "Now You're Talking" and based on a popular television series of the same name, IOYO is a wonderful course for all types of beginners. As posted in another review here, the emphasis is on the Ulster dialect. However, I find that no cautions are needed. Ulster is a popular dialect for many learners in this day and age, and anymore you will be easily understood by any other Irish speaker. In fact, it was IOYO's excellent presentation, pacing, order, and audio quality that caused me to take notice of the formerly unfashionable Ulster sound. If you're serious about the language then this is a must-try, along with "Learning Irish" and "Teach Yourself Irish." If you're a casual learner you will find it immediately useful, and as you go you'll build a solid foundation of grammar understanding. The book's tone is lighthearted and when used for revision far from tedious. I would add that as with all language courses having the audio is strongly recommended, but IOYO boasts a particularly friendly and clear set of tapes.