halo,
I am attempting to learn Gaelic and was wondering what resources you used to learn, ive already started using speakgaelic.scot which seems helpful (I previously tried Duolingo but that always felt a bit rubbish and then they turned to ai and then I tried mango but I felt the lessons were too intense and a bit repetitive)
tapadh leat agus feasgar math
Halò!
So my ~Gaelic learning journey~ (I always feel a bit cheesy calling it that, but idk what else to say) has been a pretty long and winding road so far - I've had about four or five false starts and as yet never actually settled into a good rhythm with it. I've tried various books, websites, in-person classes, and I have yet to actually find my feet - hence my level still being somewhere around A2 after... oh dear, can it really be ten years? đ
However, I'm currently experimenting with learning Norwegian, partly in an attempt to teach myself self-study skills without any of the emotional baggage of Gaelic (and with a lot more success so far!), so I guess I have a little insight? Although as always, I can only tell you about how *I* learn, which may or may not be helpful to you.
But basically: The most effective language resources I have ever used to date are self-study textbooks for adults. This seems obvious in retrospect, because they are literally designed for exactly what I'm doing, but I guess they can feel pretty imposing to approach? But I, at least, have found it very worth getting past my initial hesitation and just diving in.
(I was going to talk a bit about how I use textbooks, but it was getting very rambly and navel-gazy, so I'll get to the point.)
Specific Gaelic self-study books to look out for:
Teach Yourself Gaelic/Complete Gaelic (same course, lightly updated and rebranded) - I can't speak on this specific textbook, but I've been using Norwegian textbooks from this series and I've found them effective and enjoyable. Free audio online.
Colloquial Scottish Gaelic - This one is from a series I haven't tried yet, but have heard very good things about. Free audio online.
Scottish Gaelic in Twelve Weeks - I started this one but didn't finish it in 2024. This one is denser and covers some more advanced nuances of language. Despite its branding, I would not attempt it as a total beginner or try to do in 12 weeks - but it could be a very good resource once you have a solid foundation to build on (ie... lower intermediate? I definitely want to do some serious revision before I return to it). CD audio included.
And beware of:
Very old self-study books (~1970s and earlier). These might be helpful, but they tend to be less user-friendly than newer ones, the actual language they teach might be outdated, and they have the disadvantage of lacking audio (which is especially important for a language with complex phonetics and spelling like Gaelic.)
Phrasebooks marketed as textbooks. Phrasebooks are meant to be travellers' reference works and/or supplements to other resources. You'd have to be extremely determined to actually learn a language from one; it's barely better than studying from the dictionary.
Textbooks not from trusted publishers, especially if published in the last few years. Could be AI or otherwise unreliable; if you don't recognise it, always do a little research.
Obviously, textbooks can be very expensive. If this is a barrier (it definitely is for me!), I would still advise checking if a physical copy is available anywhere affordable for you - library, second-shops, ebay, etc - as a lot of people do find they learn better from paper than from screens. (If you're based in Scotland, there's a very good chance your local library will have at least one of the ones I listed. If you're elsewhere in the UK, Ireland, US or Canada, it's less likely, but worth at least checking.)
(And failing that, all of these can be found in digital form if you Know A Guy Who Knows A Guy. (I'm the guy. Well... the first guy. Feel free to message me lol))
I hope this helps? Cinneadh leat :)
