PIGSY ag caint as gaeilge

Molscéal - Irish Language Interview

Having attended an all-Irish school while growing up, I am fluent in the Irish language and can easily converse as gaeilge. I am always happy to take any opportunity to say a “cupla focail as gaeilge”. Check out this Irish language interview with me on Molscéal on Irish language station TG4. Click here to see the full interview.

Language Learning

I am re-watching this interview of me speaking Irish while I am here in Malaga, Spain - having just attended a Spanish language class this morning with my tutor Clara. It’s a little bit surreal to be looking at myself speaking what would have been my primary language at one point, but no longer is, while currently attempting to learn a third language. Life sure takes you on journeys that you don’t anticipate but it is a journey worth taking……it’s particularly gratifying in this time of covid to hopefully come out of it all with a new skill and language under my belt. It takes time and for me it is definitely “poco a poco”……..but I will get there and while doing so, I’ll enjoy the journey!

I’m hopeful that after spending an hour a day working on my Spanish language learning for the past 9 months that very soon I will be able to talk about my artwork in Spanish. It’s definitely something to aim for.

What this interview, as gaeilge, shows me is that it is very easy to loose fluency if you don’t keep practising speaking languages. Coupled with how difficult it is to gain fluency in the first case, it is indicative of how hard learning a language actually is. Add to this the fact, that I am a lot older than when I was learning languages as a kid in school. How much easier was it then!

But I’m committed and I’ve put massive effort in, so I do think the fluency in Spanish speaking will come. It’s just been unfortunate given the whole covid thing that there has been limited opportunity for socialising and Spanish speaking. Intercambios and language exchanges are no longer being run in person here in Malaga and from time to time as the city closed down for periods, due to Covid numbers, my language classes went online and these virtual lessons proved way more challenging than physical meet up lessons.

Spanish Language Learning in Malaga

I’ve done a batch of lessons here in Malaga and along with attending an intensive 20 hr week course for a few weeks, I’ve found that what I enjoy most is my own self instructed learning (with resources like Duolingo) and also a weekly meet up with a Spanish tutor in a local cafe for conversational Spanish. The classroom setting for the intensive classes was particularly tough - I’m not sure this type of structured learning setting suits me!

It’s definitely a case of “watch this space” and I will follow this blog up in about a year with an update of how it is all going. Until then, hasta luego!