Irish Gaelic by Nemo

Without any previous exposure to Gaeilge, I began learning using the Nemo app about 8 months ago. There weren’t too many alternatives for a less common language. Learning at a pace of 5 words per day is very reasonable for me. The words offered are practical choices. Even if you never go further with language, you will have gained some useful basics. I’ve used Nemo mainly as an audio tool using it on my phone and also paired with my watch. It works easily into my dog walking routine. I have focused mainly on ‘words of the day’, but on longer walks I often use the ‘active words’ using the player’s repeat 8 times feature to practice recall and pronunciation.I’ve adjusted the ‘temperature’ for words that just don’t stick with me so they are offered more often. I’ve remained with the average speed settings and the same voice for my initial exposure to the vocabulary, but I will mix it up whenever I reach the full vocabulary. The ‘explore’ categories are also a great practice feature. Criticisms are few. It would be better to have the ‘practice in player’ arrow at the top of the page rather than at the bottom. Once your vocabulary reaches a couple hundred words it is an awfully long way down the page to reach that arrow button. Also, now that I’ve studied the language more, it would be helpful to have more of an explanation of the word or phrase offered on the screen, though not verbalized. For example, in Gaeilge, there are multiple versions of the numbers depending on what you are describing, living beings vs inanimate. Until I encountered an explanation elsewhere, this was an unnecessary mystery. Nemo is a great introduction to the language. It inspired me to continue and to expand my Gaeilge learning. The price was very reasonable, especially considering my ongoing daily learning practice. Highly recommend giving Nemo a try.

I teach English as a second language and continually try out many apps for English as well as use several for myself in German and Spanish. Everyone knows Irish is not an easy language to learn, and I put it off for years, but this app makes the experience as easy as possible. I especially like the amount of control the learner has over how often to review words, how many new words to introduce, at what speed and so forth. You can make it as comfortable for yourself as you wish. My advice is to just listen for a week or two and then take a look at the written form. The opposite approach will scare you out of your wits. But eventually it all comes together, and in my experience it’s best to let the written form of any language seep in slowly.

I have had this app for a little over a year. I bought the full version ($10 if I remember correctly), then just let this sit on my iPod. I would occasionally go onto there, but usually to pass time when bored. This past month I have been really using its full potential. How glad I am that I did! I have learned some words already and currently I can even speak a small phrase(s). I am a competitive swimmer, and a way I remember the words is by repeating them in my head while I swim. Definitely helps keeping me entertained while I swim! I am personally visiting Ireland next year (We have planned this for over 2 years). I want to be prepared, just in case. The only suggestions I would make to this app are: 1. Tell the user how to make complete sentences (EX: adjective before noun, or noun before adjective) 2. How to do the numbers in-between the main ones. (EX: 21,22,23,24,25) 3. Ways to help make proper sentences. (EX: "The beaver chewed on the brown log") Besides those factors, This is a great app. There aren't many good Irish Gaelic learning mobile apps, I'm glad I found this one! It even allows you to listen to music while you study. Amazing!