My Journey to Learning Irish in Germany
Haigh, I’m Lily, a 23-year-old university student learning Irish in Germany! While I don’t have any roots in Ireland, I’ve always had a love for learning new writing systems and languages.
In Germany, English lessons start early—often within the first years of school. In my case, I began in the first grade, and by the time I started high school, I was nearly fluent, thanks to my love for English bands, YouTube, and reading English fanfiction. In sixth grade, we had to choose a second language, and I picked French. I found speaking and understanding French a bit tougher than English since I had less exposure to it, but I really enjoyed learning it. In fact, I even switched schools after 10th grade just to keep studying French, since my old school didn’t offer it past that level. I would’ve loved to learn a third language, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible at my new school. However, I did get the chance to take Japanese as an extracurricular course for a few months and continued learning it on my own whenever I could (unfortunately, university sometimes makes this difficult).
Another little passion of mine has been learning different alphabets. I taught myself how to write in Sütterlin (an old German script) when I was in primary school, and later, some friends and I even started learning Aurebesh—the fictional alphabet from Star Wars.
While in high school, I got the chance to stay in Dublin for a few weeks with my best friends. That trip sparked my love for Ireland, and that’s where my journey to learning Irish. Staying abroad without parents was certainly a unique experience, but it was the country itself that won me over. We hiked through stunning landscapes, chatted with incredibly kind people, and watched Riverdance for the first time. Since that trip, I’d also wanted to take up Irish dancing—and I finally started a few weeks ago!
I was excited to discover that Duolingo offers Irish lessons. So, whenever I had free time during college, I’d practice on the app. But apps can only get you so far (and even though the Duolingo owl is quite cute, the Irish could be a bit better), and I couldn’t find any in-person Irish courses nearby. That’s when I found Let’s Learn Irish online. I loved that they offered classes for absolute beginners, and though I’d already learned a bit from the app, I was unsure if I was ready for the A1 course, so I opted for the beginner class. The time difference makes scheduling a bit tricky since midday lessons in the U.S. fall late in the evening here, but luckily, there were plenty of class times to choose from, and I found one that fit my schedule. Plus all the classes are recorded and available for viewing later.
I joined the A0 Course (Booklet B) and my teacher was the best language teacher I’ve ever had. Their knowledge of Irish is incredible, and they shared so much background about the language, plus fun resources for self-study. The class size was small, so participation was encouraged (no pressure, of course, but you don’t want the teacher to feel alone!). I’m a little shy, so I was nervous at first, but speaking in class helped me so much. Speaking is such an important part of a language, so try to practise as much as possible. There’s no judgment if you make mistakes, and you’re free to ask any questions you have.
My biggest success so far while learning the language happened just recently: I read a book that was set in Ireland, and I understood all the Irish sentences that were thrown in. It wasn’t much but it was so cool that I could already understand that. I’m also very proud every time I catch a familiar word while listening to Irish music.
If you’re also learning Irish, I highly recommend finding ways to integrate learning in your daily life: try talking to your pets in Irish, putting vocabulary sticky notes around your apartment, listening to Irish music, or doing a quick vocab lesson on your commute. And of course, join the online Irish community at LetsLearnIrish.com so that you can practise with fellow learners and mentors. Try to expose yourself to the language as much as possible in a way you enjoy.
Ádh mór le do chuid staidéir sa Ghaeilge agus bíodh lá deas agat! / Good look with learning Irish and have a nice day!
Bígí páirteach!
Join the online Irish community at LetsLearnIrish.com.
Follow on social media @LetsLearnIrish.
