Chiff and Fipple Forums

Has anyone spent time with Duolingo lately? Seems like a nice way to get an introduction to Irish.

For what it's worth, I've been doing enough Irish on Duolingo to reach level 15 (the highest level that I am in any language). It's helped to reinforce some of Irish's more difficult concepts (eclipsis and lenition, for sure), and it's definitely helped solidify a core vocabulary for me. With that being said, it hasn't really gotten me to speaker status, even on a more basic level. I also wish that the voice read the sentences aloud a bit more, which is a feature of many of the other languages. There are some sentences that are read, but most are silent.

I picked up Teanga Bheo when I was in Ireland and I've had a lot of success with that one. I think that using a bunch of different programs in conjunction with each other is really a strong way to tackle any language. I've found that the reading and exercises in Teanga Bheo plus Duolingo exercises plus listening to a bunch of Irish-language music (Sean-nós singing is a great place to start because it's often in free verse without instruments to muddy up the recordings) has really helped me to grow as an Irish speaker. Keep in mind that, whatever you do, progress will be slow, but it's worth it in the end. A short conversation I had about musical instruments with a woman in a pub on Inis Oírr was one of the most gratifying moments of my Ireland trip.

One great feature in Duolingo if you want to learn a little everyday is that you can activate a notification reminding you that you have to do your daily exercise. It can get a bit annoying, but it's helpful nonetheless.

Anyway, I also think a combination of methods/sources is the best way to go, both when learning languages or music.