Ag Tacú leis an Ghaeilge / Supporting the Irish Language

Tá Dolores Mhic Géidigh ag obair mar Eagraí Litearthachta do Sheirbhísí Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Oiliúna i nGort a’ Choirce.  Tá sí mar ionadaí ag ETB Dhún na nGall ar choiste stiúrtha Bhreacadh.  Insíonn sí tuilleadh dúinn faoin tionscadal sa bhlag seo.

Cad é a chiallaíonn an focal ‘Breacadh’?

Tá cúpla ciall leis an fhocal chéanna – ciallaíonn sé briseadh/teacht an lae nó ciallaíonn sé rud a scríobh síos.  Mar sin, ainm iontach fóirsteanach atá ann do thogra bunoideachais d’aosaigh, áit go minic a mbíonn daoine ag tabhairt faoi chúrsa don chéad uair ó d’fhág siad an scoil, (agus an léamh agus an scríobh uilig atá i gceist leis sin).

Cad é atá i mBreacadh?

Cuireann Breacadh áiseanna foghlama agus teagaisc d’ardchaighdeán ar fáil trí Ghaeilge mar thacaíocht do sheirbhísí oideachais leanúnaigh agus oiliúna sa Ghaeltacht.

Tá Breacadh á mhaoiniú ag SOLAS agus á stiúradh ag Boird Oideachais & Oiliúna na Gaeltachta.  Ta ballraíocht ar an choiste stiúrtha ag ionadaithe ó na Boird Oideachais uilig a bhfuil ceantar Gaeltachta faoina gcúram – sin Dún na nGall, Gaillimh, Maigh Eo, Ciarraí, Corcaigh, Port Láirge agus Co. na Mí.  Bhí Cróna Ní Ghallchóir, Stiúrthóir Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Oiliúna Dhún na nGall ar an chéad choiste stiúrtha a bunaíodh.

Tá beirt fostaithe go lánaimseartha – an Bainisteoir Máirín Uí Niaidh agus an tEagarthóir Áine de Bhailís Uí Neachtáin.  Bíonn daoine eile ar chonradh ag an togra go rialta, ag scríobh agus ag cruthú áiseanna.  Tá an oifig lonnaithe i gCasla na Gaillimhe.

Ó tháinig Breacadh ar an fhód, tá réimse leathan áiseanna foghlama agus teagaisc forbartha agus curtha i gcló do chláir éagsúla aosoideachais na mBord Oideachais agus Oiliúna sna ceantair Ghaeltachta.

Ina measc, tá áiseanna ranga do chláracha ‘Foghlaim Teaghlaigh’, leithéid cúrsaí Cumarsáide agus Matamaitice don saol; Mar a Déarfá!, scéim fónaice / litearthachta don fhoghlaimeoir fásta agus go leor ábhar léitheoireachta ar leibhéil éagsúla, idir fhicsean agus neamhfhicsean.

Tá tacaíocht tugtha ag Breacadh do sheirbhísí Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Oiliúna na Gaeltachta chomh maith, le hoiliúint teagascóirí deonacha agus le huasghrádú scileanna teagascóirí – i réimse na fónaice, go háirithe.

Cuirtear formhór na n-acmhainní seo ar fáil sna trí mhórchanúint Ghaeilge; Gaeilge Uladh, Gaeilge na Mumhan agus Gaeilge Chonnacht.

Is cinnte gur ceann de na áiseanna is tábhachtaí atá curtha ar fáil ag Breacadh le blianta beaga anuas nó Mar a Déarfá! Is clár céimnithe fónaice/litearthachta é Mar a Déarfá! chun líofacht léitheoireachta agus cruinneas scríofa agus litrithe a mhúineadh don chainteoir dúchais Gaeilge.  Tá leagan áirithe ann do na canúintí éagsúla, Gaeilge Uladh, Gaeilge Connacht agus Gaeilge na Mumhan.

Tá sé dírithe ar an chainteoir dúchais atá ag iarraidh feabhas a chur ar a chuid léitheoireachta agus scríbhneoireachta sa Ghaeilge.  Díríonn sé ar na príomhfhuaimeanna a dhéanann an cainteoir dúchais ina theanga labhartha féin a cheangal le ‘cóid’ scríofa na bhfuaimeanna sin.  Sin an tuige a dtugtar Mar a Déarfá! air; tosaíonn an clár seo le teanga shaibhir, chanúnach an fhoghlaimeora agus baineann sé úsáid as, agus tógann sé ar an bhunchloch sin.  Is féidir amharc ar chuid Chúige Uladh anseo .

Is féidir tuilleadh eolais a fháil faoi Breacadh ag www.breacadh.ie agus faoin scéim fónaice ag www.maradearfa.ie   Tá léir do na hacmhainní saor in aisce ar shuíomh Bhreacadh agus tá an scéim fónaice le fáil le ceannacht ar an idirlíon.

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Dolores Mhic Géidigh is an Adult Literacy Organiser with our Further Education and Training (FET) Service in Gort an Choirce. She represents Donegal ETB on the Steering Group of the Breacadh project. In this blog she tells us more about the project.

What does the word ‘Breacadh’ mean?

There are a few ways to translate the word.  It can mean ‘dawn’ as in ‘dawn of day’ or it can mean to note or jot something down.  It is a very apt name to describe an adult education project, as for many adult learners this is their new dawn and a reintroduction to the world of education (and the reading and writing that that entails).

What is the Breacadh project?

Breacadh provides high quality teaching and learning resources as a support to Further Education and Training Services in the Gaeltacht.

It is funded by SOLAS and operated by the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) that provide services in Gaeltacht areas.  Every ETB that has a Gaeltacht area is represented on the steering group – Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry, Cork, Waterford and Meath.  Cróna Gallagher, Director of Further Education and Training in Donegal, was a founder member of the Breacadh project.

There are two people employed full-time, the Project Manager, Máirín Uí Niaidh and Áine de Bhailís Uí Neachtáin, Editor.  Writers and subject experts are employed on a contract basis as resources are being developed.  The office is based in Casla, Co. Galway.

Since its establishment, Breacadh has developed and published a wide range of teaching and learning materials for many ETB adult education programmes.  These include classroom resources for Family Learning Programmes like Communications and Maths; a phonics scheme called Mar a Déarfá! (meaning: As You Would Say!); as well as lots of other reading materials at different levels, both fiction and non-fiction.  The project has also supported Further Education and Training Services in the Gaeltacht to train volunteer tutors and has provided professional development courses, particularly around the roll-out of the phonics course.

Most of these resources and materials are published in all 3 major dialects, Ulster, Connacht and Munster.

Without a doubt, one of the most important pieces of work ever undertaken by Breacadh is the development and publication of the phonics scheme Mar a Déarfá!  It is a graded, sequential, multi-sensory literacy programme / scheme that is used in teaching to allow native Irish speakers to achieve a high standard of spelling and writing in their first language and in their own dialect.  It has been designed to help with writing and spelling from early age to adult learners.  It focuses on the major sounds that the native speaker makes in his/her own tongue and ties these to the written ‘codes’ of those sounds.  Again, this is available in each of the three dialects.  In fact, that why it is called Mar a Déarfá! (meaning: As You Would Say!), as it starts with the rich dialectal language of the learner and draws on and builds on that foundation stone.  You can have a look at the Ulster scheme here.

For more information go to www.breacadh.ie  Many of the resources are there to be downloaded free or you can order them on-line.  Mar a Déarfá! can be found at www.maradearfa.ie and can be bought on-line.