Summary
Highlights
Mihal introduces the live, interactive Irish listening class, focusing on the 2024 exam paper. Students are encouraged to have their papers ready or view questions on screen. The session aims to slowly go through the listening, identify new vocabulary, and practice, noting that listening is often a challenging aspect for students.
Mihal outlines weekly support, including a free Q&A session every Monday from 7-8 PM for general Irish questions, and a live grind on Mondays at 8:15 PM for oral practice. Listening practice will now be a dedicated session every Tuesday from 8:15 PM, promising 13 hours of practice before the Leaving Cert, building confidence and comfort with the material. Writing workshops are held on Wednesdays from 3:30-4:30 PM, focusing on sentence structure and avoiding grammar mistakes.
Mihal explains that the listening comprehension, worth 10% of the overall Irish exam (60 marks), is intentionally challenging to prevent grade inflation from rote learning. It serves as a differentiator between H1 and H2 grades. Students are advised to manage expectations, recognizing that initial attempts might be difficult, but consistent practice will lead to significant improvement. The listening section is common for both higher and ordinary level students.
The class approach involves translating questions, listening in shorthand (not full sentences), and then correcting together. Emphasis is placed on not worrying about spelling initially, but focusing on capturing key information to keep up with the audio. The marking scheme is generous, often giving partial marks for key words or even phonetic attempts. There's no judgment for low scores, as the goal is gradual improvement over 13 weeks.
The first practice session, 'Fogra A', involves listening to an announcement twice. Students are guided to identify the name of a school involved, the aim of the scheme, two events organized for students, and one thing officials will do during their visit. Mihal pre-empts common vocabulary, like 'a gloarta' (taking part) and 'a kin' (to promote), and advises logical thinking about school-related events.
Mihal corrects the answers for Fogra A, highlighting the generous marking scheme which awards partial marks for keywords and even acceptable phonetic spellings. Key vocabulary is extracted and explained, including 'a gloa' (taking part), 'a kin' (to promote), 'claroki' (program of events), 'agroer' (will be organized), 'krishta' (committee), 'imocki'/'ok' (event), 'broner' (will be awarded), 'iro' (effort/attempt) and 'augal' (interview). Specific spelling rules for names of organizations, counties, days, and months are also discussed.
The second practice session, 'Fogra Adó', requires students to identify who issued the notice, two things visitors will learn from museum exhibitions, and one activity visitors can do in an interactive zone. Students are reminded to use shorthand and expect similar vocabulary patterns from previous years.
Mihal corrects Fogra Adó, revealing answers like 'Stewart' (director) and 'Park an Croic' (an organization). He reiterates the strict spelling rules for organizations, counties, and dates. Key phrases from this text include 'Tash Bontus' (exhibition), 'Kchure' (visitor), 'Mirina' (video clips), 'More la' (well-known), 'park immer' (playing field/pitch), 'Scilana' (skills, with emphasis on the 'SC' spelling), 'a hastel' (to try out something), 'seieve grayson' (website), and 'sturehor' (director).
The final practice, 'Quidge B', is divided into two parts with a full listen-through, then a segmented listen-through with a pause. Questions focus on a heatwave in Italy (one point of information), two ways it affected Epha's plans, two points about damage from fires, what weather experts said about Europe, and what should be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (specifically, 'gas'). Students are encouraged to use logical reasoning based on the context.
Mihal corrects Quidge B, showing multiple acceptable answers for the heatwave information (e.g., 'terrible', '40 degrees Celsius') and how it affected plans (e.g., 'stay indoors', 'places closed', 'trips cancelled'). For fires, damage to houses and vehicles were valid answers. Weather experts warned that Europe was 'warming up quicker.' The solution for gas emissions was 'cut back on non-renewable fuels.' Mihal concludes by encouraging consistent attendance at the weekly listening sessions, reiterating that while challenging, practice significantly improves performance. He reminds students of upcoming workshops and grinds.