English in Ireland Resources
It may be very difficult to find suitable English in Ireland resources which are exclusively produced for Ireland using course topics about Ireland and Celtic culture.
Usually teachers have to rely on copied or downloaded material using newspapers, Irish culture publications and so forth. They then have to cut as well as paste this information onto pages, blanking out phrases and words for the purpose of creating worksheets then multi copying the prepared page yet again for every student in the class. However normally, the finished handouts end up being not so impressive looking because the photocopying machine may clearly show the lines where any articles have been trimmed and copied and pasted onto the worksheet and are typically in black and white. Then simply, to add insult to injury for any teacher, a lot of these handouts are left around the room and/or put in the rubbish bin at the end of the class!
People who are learning English in Ireland will have more problems understanding the Irish way of life if they are studying beginner levels of English. More advanced learners are able to look over related information readily available throughout main libraries and book shops but, unfortunately, most of these materials will be too difficult for the beginner levels of English.
Schools have got to depend on materials which have been printed and intended for standard English language subject areas.
Thankfully there is now a website dedicated to providing English in Ireland resources! It is called “Learning English in Ireland”. Any individual, teachers or schools can find a variety of specialized and beautifully illustrated teaching and learning books and handouts, for example:
“Learning English in Ireland“, student workbook
A beautifully illustrated course book full of topics about Ireland and Irish culture. Each topic has reading, writing, listening and speaking activities. A downloadable CD is free with this book.
“Learning English in Ireland“, teacher’s guide
This teacher’s book is a guide for teachers using the student publication of the same title. The teacher’s book includes entire lesson plans designed for each topic and photocopiable additional activities. An Audio CD is included.
“Teaching Celtic Art Activities”
This teacher’s book and also instructional CD is designed for anyone who is interested in teaching people how to make handmade cards, prints, party invitations etcetera with a Celtic theme. You will find plenty of Celtic images and letters that may be copied and used in classes and workshops. This book is particularly useful for students, especially summer students coming for holiday courses, to make a diary detailing their study trip to Ireland as a fun way of learning English.
“Teaching Traditional Irish Songs”
Teaching songs is a great way to teach English. For those of you who are teaching English in Ireland or overseas and wanting to add a bit of Irish Culture to your classes, this is a must to get your students singing along in no time!
Just as the title suggests, this publication comes complete with fun handouts which can be used by teachers or individuals to learn useful vocabulary and expressions for this worldwide well known historical Irish festival.
ESL Worksheets – Famous Irish Singers and Bands plus Oisin in Tir na Nog
These are printed handouts of the units from the “Learning English in Ireland” student book, published in full color, for teachers who just want a few Irish Cultural classes, rather than using the full student book.
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