Creating A Total Gaelic Environment..........Total Immersion Plus (TIP) Introduction In this section we concentrate on ensuring that Gaelic is the only language spoken and accepted, by both tutor and students and at all times. If this fundamental rule is not adhered to, then the rest of the work will collapse very quickly into a mishmash of translation. To say this is not the way forward, is an understatement, neither is it productive in learning Gaelic; indeed it can all too frequently be destructive and demotivating. Of course, one realises that “The Gaelic only rule” may sometimes, be difficult to manage and in regard to this, there is a great deal of preparatory information provided to smooth a student’s path. 1) The Gaelic only rule All tutors and students must wholeheartedly adhere to and commit themselves to “The Gaelic only rule” if we are to reduce the learning Gaelic time significantly, moreover, any breeches of this procedure will undermine, lengthen and do much to sabotage the success of the course and its ultimate objective. 2) The status of Gaelic Viewed from yet another angle, any relaxing or neglect of “The Gaelic only rule” by the students or for that matter, the tutor, diminishes the respect for and status of Gaelic. 3) Only Gaelic to be accepted & understood by tutors & students Students and tutors are required to use Gaelic at all times. The only exceptions allowed are emergencies such as fire, accidents etc., consider, if English is allowed to intrude here and there at will, then within a short period of time, English will be all that is spoken and acknowledged, with perhaps the odd smattering of Gaelic as window dressing. 4) Who is responsible for maintaining the Gaelic only rule? The short answer is, everyone involved with the learning process; one may also consider that anything less than a strong commitment, is in the long run, an awful waste of everyone’s time; it will not further Gaelic either. It is simply not possible to emphasise too strongly the importance of everyone striving energetically in keeping the course entirely Gaelic and as free of English as possible; it can be done, it is very hard work, but never less than totally worthwhile. 5) Keeping Gaelic free of English words & phrases The student must be alert and aware of English utterances and endeavour to control them as much as they can; anything less, means the course will be corrupted, as will their progress and language acquisition. 6) No translations please! In the first instance, translations by their very nature are weak and usually second rate; so why on earth bother with them. Course, learning through Gaelic with all that entails, more often than not, is much harder work than translating, but the result is so much better. However the results for tutor, student and Gaelic are far and away superior to the wishy-washy Gaelic/English hybrid that satisfies no one, neither does it bring anything positive towards securing the future of the Gaelic language and culture. 7) Internal motivation Again, if English is present on the course, neither the students nor the tutor’s internal motivation will be stimulated into learning or passing on the language. Quite simply, if internal motivation is not activated on a course such as this, then it is very likely that language learning will be painfully slow or even non-existent. Moreover, one should be aware that a great deal of hard work, effort and research hours have gone into creating strategies for motivating Gaelic language acquisition, this being the case, it would then be an awful pity to waste such a valuable resource, through lack of commitment or even laziness. 8) New faces as well as established students Whether a student arrived today, yesterday, last week or sometime in the future, “The Gaelic only rule” applies to one and all except for the usual emergencies, again, it is as well to remember that any deviation merely sabotages everyone’s efforts and threatens successful outcomes. 9) The Gaelic Only Declaration Also in our courses portfolio we have designed a declaration agreement form called The Gaelic Only Declaration which is to be signed by both students and tutor. Its purpose is to drive home “The Gaelic only rule” in yet another way; all these strategies are there simply to emphasise this point. Of course one can be smugly dismissive of such ploys, but one would be unwise to do so, for they give credence, intent, value and pride to what is a most enduring and worthwhile undertaking. One should keep in mind that what we are all seeking in our own various ways, is the restoration of Gaelic to the family, home, school, wider community and Scotland as a whole. Admittedly some of the steps may seem small and trivial, but if they help, then they are worth doing. 10) The English only room One room will be set aside for the use of English, such a move is most necessary for the first 2 days of the course to allow students to let off 10 minutes of English steam as a safety valve. During these timeouts tutors will make themselves scarce except in an emergency and no course business etc. will be discussed. 11) Striking a balance Given what has been said above, one must also keep a balance and not see English as the enemy and accordingly, any utterances in that language as life threatening mistakes; one does the best one can and if a student unthinkingly slips into English, then the tutor will quickly move on and get the show back on the road; focussing on positives rather than negatives, is the way forward.
Posted on: Fri, 11 Jul 2014 08:47:39 +0000
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