Leaving Certificate Irish tests several different skills, including speaking, listening, reading and writing. Students can often improve their results significantly by avoiding a few common mistakes.
1. Leaving Oral Preparation Too Late — your oral Irish needs regular practice, so don't wait until shortly before the examination to start speaking Irish out loud.
2. Memorising Without Understanding — learning prepared material can be useful, but you should understand what you're saying, which makes it much easier to adapt your Irish when asked an unexpected question.
3. Ignoring Grammar — grammar affects both your written and spoken Irish, so regularly revise important verbs, tenses and sentence structures.
4. Giving Very Short Oral Answers — where appropriate, develop your answers by giving additional information, explaining your opinion, or providing an example.
5. Neglecting Listening Practice — aural skills develop over time, so regularly listening to spoken Irish will help you become more comfortable understanding the language at a natural pace.
6. Not Practising Exam Questions — knowing your notes doesn't automatically mean you'll be able to use them effectively in the exam, so practise applying what you've learned to past questions.
7. Trying to Cram Everything — languages are difficult to cram. Short, regular study sessions throughout the year are much more effective.
Success in Leaving Certificate Irish comes from consistent practice across the different areas of the course. Leaving Cert Plus provides notes, videos, flashcards, exam questions and quizzes designed to help students prepare effectively and build confidence.