Certificate in Professional Irish
The course will certainly help me deal with the public through Irish.
I found the course to be good, challenging enough but not too much. I would certainly recommend it to any colleague interested in improving their Irish.
Rannpháirtí / Participant
Very interactive - I could see the improvement week after week. The material on ranganna.com was very helpful in consolidating what was studied in the classes. It was challenging but very effective.
Rannpháirtí / Participant
3 Month course
30 Hours
5 Levels
Online
Description
The Certificate in Professional Irish is a part-time programme aimed at public sector employees who deal with the public on a regular basis and are required on occasion to provide a service through Irish. Those who undertake the course have an opportunity to learn specialised language relating to their work and to gain a recognised qualification at the same time.
The aim of the course
The Certificate in Professional Irish seeks to provide participants with the confidence and language skills necessary to communicate through Irish with the public in the context of their work, and to also use the language in social situations. The course helps participants provide a higher standard of customer service through Irish, and this in turn helps the bodies in which they work to fulfil their obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003.
Levels
The Certificate in Professional Irish is available at Levels 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications.
Course structure
Students attend a classroom-based session or live online class, usually once a week. In addition to this, an account is created for them on ranganna.com, Gaelchultúr’s e-learning website, and they have the opportunity to do interactive exercises on that site and receive instant feedback. They can also use this resource to revise what they have covered in class and to prepare for upcoming classes.
Material
Both general everyday language and work-related language are taught in the course. Participants learn phrases and terminology relating to the workplace and they are also taught how to deal with customers through Irish on the phone and face to face.
Teaching approach
The Certificate in Professional Irish teachers use a modern learner-centred approach in the classroom. Pair work and group work, role play activities and language games feature prominently, giving students an opportunity to practise what they’ve been taught. While some grammar is taught during the course, it is made accessible and precedence is given to interactive, consciousness-raising exercises. Only grammar that helps students communicate more effectively is taught and complicated terminology is avoided.
Assessment
The participants undertake continuous assessment tasks throughout the course and this is worth 55% of the overall marks. Students also undertake an oral exam at the end of the programme and this accounts for the remaining 45%.
Bróisiúr an chúrsa
Our teaching approach
Gaelchultúr has developed comprehensive syllabuses and every class at every level follows these syllabuses.
The communicative approach to language teaching is used by Gaelchultúr’s teachers, giving learners the opportunity to play an active part in each class.
A strong emphasis is placed on group and pair work and learners therefore have a chance to practise what they’ve been taught. The main focus is on speaking and listening in all classes (with the exception of Cruinneas sa Ghaeilge), but reading and writing activities also feature.
Learn more about usFAQs
You can register for the Certificate in Professional Irish on www.gaelchultur.com. The registration process on the website includes an assessment survey. If the course is being funded by your workplace you must seek permission (from your manager or training unit) prior to booking your place.
Note: If your workplace comes under OneLearning, the new Learning and Development Centre for the Civil Service, and you wish to undertake a course at Level 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, please contact your Learning and Development/Training Unit who will arrange the training through OneLearning.
Continuous assessment (written exercises, reading comprehensions and listening comprehensions) is a core component of the course and students are required to undergo an oral examination on completing the programme.
Those wishing to attend the course at Level 3, Level 4, Level 5 or Level 6 must have a certain minimum competency in Irish. This is assessed in a pre-course assessment survey.
Participants must have basic computer skills (e.g. an ability to send and receive emails, use a browser, play sound files). They must have access to a computer for several hours each week to participate in the class and to prepare for it.
Most students who successfully complete the Certificate in Professional Irish have the opportunity to progress to the next level. However, to ensure that that level is suitable for the learner, he/she may be asked to undertake a short assessment before moving on.
The live online classes last for three hours and are held one day a week for 10 weeks. They are highly interactive: the participants have an opportunity to speak to the teacher and to take part in pair and group work activities. A computer situated in a quiet space with a working camera and microphone is required.
Terms and Conditions
- Course fees may be refunded in full to a learner up to five working days prior to the commencement of the course. The refund must by requested by contacting Gaelchultúr’s staff by email or by phone. (Our contact details can be found here.)
- If, following the first class, the student decides that he/she would like to discontinue the course, 60% of the total fee will be refunded to him/her. Thereafter, no refund will be made to the student.
- Gaelchultúr Teoranta has the right to cancel a class or to amalgamate classes.
- If it is necessary to cancel a class, every effort will be made to place the participants in another class or to register them for an online course. A full refund will be made to the customer if these options do not suit him/her.
- A student may defer his/her registration only once. If he/she wishes to defer registration, he/she must notify Gaelchultúr’s staff of this by week three of the course. No refund will be made to the student if he/she does not accept a place on the next course he/she is due to attend.
- Gaelchultúr will accept no responsibility in the event that a student registers at the wrong level. We advise our students to do our online Irish test or to seek our advice to ensure that they are undertaking the correct level.
- If a student wants to move to another level, we cannot guarantee that a space will be available for him/her at that level. Should a space be available, Gaelchultúr will charge a €10 administration fee for making the change. A change may only be made to another level following the first class.
- Course fees must be paid in full prior to commencement of the course. Attendance on a course is subject to full payment of fees.
- Every student must abide by our Code of Conduct when attending a course with us.
- People under 18 years of age are not permitted to attend courses other than those specified as being suitable for those under 18 years of age. Our Child Protection Statement can be found here.
