ENIR 202 - INTERMEDIATE IRISH II SYLLABUS
Instructor: Traolach Ó Ríordáin – toriordain@hotmail.com
Office Hours:
Grading:
1. Weekly class examinations oral and written – 30%
2. Class presentations: 30%
3. Final examination: oral – 20%; written – 20%
Objectives:
Students of Intermediate Irish II will have a very solid foundation on which
to advance their study of the Irish language. All students will have
completed Beginning Irish I, II, III and Intermediate Irish I or their
equivalent from other universities. All will be able to use the two verbs “to
be” with ease, will have a sound command of regular and irregular verbs in
the past, present and future tenses, and will bring with them a large
vocabulary of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.
The primary object of this course is to expand students’ knowledge of verbs
and nouns, and to introduce them to more complex constructions and themes
of discussion. Students will learn how to form verbs in the conditional mood
and the habitual past tense; they will study and master the five declensions
of the verbs; they learn how to decline adjectives; and they will consult more
intellectually and linguistically challenging texts. These texts will deal with
literature; culture; politics; economics; religion and other topical issues. The
quality of these texts is consistent with the standards one expects at any Irish
language department in the National University of Ireland system.
At the end of this course students will be familiar with all tenses and moods
of regular and irregular verbs in Irish. They will know all five declensions of
the nouns; will know how do decline the adjective; and will possess a very
broad and solid grasp of Irish syntax and grammar. They will also possess a
vocabulary of nouns, verbs, adjectives and idioms that will enable them to
engage on an intellectual level in conversations relating to language,
literature, politics, economics, religion and social issues. A system of
continuous assessment will record students’ progress and success in
achieving the goals this course sets. Each week students will make an oral
presentation in class, discuss the material and submit a written synopsis of
the texts. Much greater attention is paid to bringing the written work of the
student to a level consistent with university standards.
LESSON PLAN WEEKS 1-5
Week 1 - Revision
1. Regular and irregular verbs in past, present and future tenses
2. Discussion of songs and stories studied in Intermediate Irish I
Week 2.
1 Verbs – Past, Present and Future Tenses as well as an introduction to
Conditional Mood.
2 Essay – Litríocht agus Cultúr [Literature and Culture]
3 Poem/Song – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh [Poetry of Seán Ó Ríordáin]
Week 3.
1. Class Exam
2. Verbs: Regular and Irregular: Conditional Mood
3. Grammar and Vocabulary: 1st declension nouns
4 Essay: 1st written submission - Litríocht agus Cultúr [Literature and
Culture]
4. Poem/Song - Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 4.
1. Class exam
2. Essay: Class presentation - Litríocht agus Cultúr [Literature and
Culture]
3. New Essay – An Scríbhneoireacht [The Art of Writing]
4. Verbs: Regular and Irregular - Conditional Mood
5. Grammar and Vocabulary: 1st declension nouns
Week 5
1. Scrúdú
2. Essay: Class presentation – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
3. Essay: written submission - Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
4. Verbs: Regular and Irregular - Indirect speech Conditional Mood.
5. Grammar and Vocabulary: 1st declension nouns
6. Poem/Song - Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
LESSON PLAN WEEKS 6-10.
Week 6.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation – An Scríbhneoireacht
3. Essay: written submission – An Scríbhneoireacht
4. New Essay: An Timpeallacht [The Environment]
5. Verbs: An Aimsir Ghnáthchaite [The Habitual Past Tense]
6. Vocabulary: 2nd declension nouns
7. Poem/Song - Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 7.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation - An Timpeallacht
3. Essay: written submission - An Timpeallacht
4. New Essay: An Gearrscéal [The Short-story]
5. Verbs: Aimsir Ghnáthchaite
6. Grammar and Vocabulary: 2nd declension nouns
7. Poem/Song – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 8.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation – An Gearrscéal
3. Essay: written submission – An Gearrscéal
4. New Essay – Cearta Ban [Women’s Rights]
5. Verbs: Aimsir Ghnáthchaite
6. Grammar and Vocabulary: 2nd declension nouns
7. Poem/Song - Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 9.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation - Cearta Ban
3. Essay: written submission - Cearta Ban
4. New Essay – An tÁbharachas [Materialism]
5. Verbs: Má, Dá, Muna, Mura and contingency clauses.
6. Vocabulary: 3rd declension nouns
7. Poem/Song – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 10.
2. Class Exam
1. Essay: Class presentation - An tÁbharachas
2. Essay: written submission - An tÁbharachas
3. New Essay: Oileán na Naomh is na n-Ollamh: Creideamh agus
Cultúr in Éirinn [The Island of Saints and Scholars: Religion and
Culture in Ireland]
4. Verbs: Má, Dá, Muna, Mura and contingency clauses.
5. Grammar and Vocabulary: 3rd declension nouns
6. Poem/Song – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
LESSON PLAN WEEKS 11-15.
Week 11.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation - Oileán na Naomh is na n-Ollamh
3. Essay: written submission - Oileán na Naomh is na n-Ollamh
4. New Essay – Eolaíocht V Litriocht [Science Versus Literature]
5. Grammar and Vocabulary: 4th and 5th declension nouns
6.Poem/Song – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 12.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation - Eolaíocht V Litriocht
3. Essay: written submission - Eolaíocht V Litriocht
4. New Essay – An Cultúr Gaelach [Irish Gaelic Culture]
5. Grammar and Vocabulary: 4th and 5th declension nouns
6. Poem/Song – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 13.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation - An Cultúr Gaelach
3. Essay: written submission - An Cultúr Gaelach
4. New Essay – An Dúshaothrú [Exploitation]
5. Grammar and Vocabulary: Declining adjectives
6. Poem/Song – Filíocht an Ríordánaigh
Week 14.
1. Class Exam
2. Essay: Class presentation - An Dúshaothrú
3. Essay: written submission - An Dúshaothrú
5. Grammar and Vocabulary: Declining adjectives
Week 15.
1. Revision of verbs, nouns and adjectives
2. Preparation for final written and oral exam.