The GaelMinn Gazette: February, 2017
THE GAELMINN GAZETTE (#140): February, 2017
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The GaelMinn Gazette, a monthly e-newsletter from Gaeltacht Minnesota, carries helpful items for anyone studying the Irish language, anywhere, as well as news of interest to local and regional students.
Please FORWARD this newsletter to any friends who may want to learn Irish. And if you received this Gazette from someone else, go to www.gaelminn.org to sign up.
To read this newsletter as a web page, go to www.gaelminn.org/lastgaz.htm .
Content (C) 2017 Gaeltacht Minnesota
CONTENTS
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Tips, Tools, & Tricks
---The Performance Mindset
GaelMinn News & Announcements
Lessons Learned
---Ask About What You Already Know
About Gaeltacht Minnesota
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TIPS, TOOLS, & TRICKS
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----------THE PERFORMANCE MINDSET
It is easy to think of language learning as an academic exercise. We memorize vocabulary and study rules of grammar. We strive to achieve an intellectual understanding of how the language works.
But that only takes you so far. Learning a language is fundamentally different from, say, learning history.
Speaking a language is a performance skill. It is like dance, or acting, or sport. And applying a performance mindset to learning Irish can provide clues as to how to master that skill:
* DRILL AND REPETITION: Most language students simply do not drill enough. We know it can be a bit boring. But dancers and athletes practice the same movements over and over again. They drill and drill, repeating these movements until they are automatic, and then they keep drilling even after they do them well. And they focus on ...
* FUNDAMENTALS: They drill the most basic movements, no matter what level of higher skills they have achieved. But when learning Irish, we tend to "move on" when we think we have something learned. Instead, there should always be some practice with, say, mutations or tense formation. And basic conversation elements can often use more practice than we give them (see "Ask About What You Already Know" below).
* FREQUENT PRACTICE: You don't become a graceful dancer just by taking one class a week. With Irish, working in some attention during the week on a regular basis can make a huge difference. This doesn't have to take a lot of time -- frequent, short "touches" can be very helpful.
* ACTIVELY MANAGE HABITS: High performing athletes schedule and plan practice. They don't just "mean to get around to it," or practice "when I get a moment." They actively manage their practice or rehearsal. Do you explicitly schedule your study time, and faithfully observe that schedule.
Now, thinking of speaking Irish as akin to playing a sport isn't a perfect analogy. For one thing, it is not a competition. Stop comparing your performance to what other people do with the language.
And it is not a race. You don't even have a "finish line" -- you can never be "done" learning a language -- and it doesn't pay to obsess over how long it takes you to master something.
If you take a steady performance-learning approach -- especially with frequent drill of the fundamentals -- you'll make good progress. One day you may even be surprised to look back and see how far you have come!
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GAELTACHT MINNESOTA NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
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----------VOLUNTEERS WILL BE NEEDED
We'll have a booth at the Landmark Center for St. Pat's (Friday, March 17) and the Day of Dance the following Sunday. Everyone can help no matter what your level of ability with the language.
Signup forms will be available in class. You can learn more at our volunteer page at http://www.gaelminn.org/volpage.htm , where you can also use our online form to let us know you're available.
----------THANKS TO DONORS
We are truly grateful to everyone who contributed to Gaeltacht Minnesota recently. Your generosity makes it possible for us to continue making learning the language as accessible and affordable as possible.
----------LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ...
We're starting to work on our annual Saturday workshop this spring. We'll keep you posted, here and on our web site, as details develop.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee group will hold a language weekend the first weekend in March. https://www4.uwm.edu/celtic/ .
And the wonderful Donegal program Oideas Gael has announced their calendar of weekend and week-long programs, spring through fall. http://www.oideas-gael.com/en/ .
Looking farther down the road, the annual June weekend in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has a great lineup of instructors. We'll have more information on our home page soon.
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LESSONS LEARNED
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----------ASK ABOUT WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW
If you are in a class or study group, and you've been meeting with the same people regularly for a while, would you feel silly turning to your neighbor and asking what his or her name is?
Probably. But many things that feel silly are wonderful helps to learning a language.
Sure, you learn to say, "What's your name?" and "How are you?" and "Where are you from?" fairly early in your studies. The problem is that when you meet someone new, a new class member or someone at a workshop or even at an Irish fair, you suddenly have trouble pulling up these basic questions.
Why? Because you never practice them! You understand these questions intellectually, of course. You sort of have them memorized, so you can usually dig them up eventually. But these should be questions you can ask quickly and easily in Irish, just as you say, "Hi, How are you?" so spontaneously in English on making a new acquaintance.
After all, you see these same people every week or every month, and would never think of asking them these things. But how are these basic questions going to become second nature to you if you don't use them?
Make an agreement with other members of your study group, that you can ask questions like these anytime, even though you know the answers. Perhaps keep a checklist to make sure you use these common questions at least a couple of times a month. Make sure you get practice answering them as well.
Don't have a class or study group? Well, talk to yourself, talk to your imaginary friends, talk to your plants and pets. Of course, you'll have to answer for them, which is additional good practice.
Because we don't have many natural opportunities to practice this kind of material, we have to create artificial ones. Work in more practice with the common "small talk" conversation, and you'll be ready to pull out what you need, without even thinking about it, when you meet someone new.
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ABOUT GAELTACHT MINNESOTA & THE GAZETTE
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Gaeltacht Minnesota is a volunteer organization that has been teaching free weekly classes in Irish for more than three decades. Besides ongoing free classes and this newsletter, we offer a workshop and an introductory class each year, publish columns about the language in regional publications, and participate in a wide variety of community events.
The GaelMinn Gazette is distributed to our subscriber list on the 25th of each month: Will Kenny, editor.
---------- CONTACT US
You can stay up to date with Gaeltacht Minnesota at www.gaelminn.org , or drop us a line anytime at info@gaelminn.org .
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