Podcast 098: Better Than Fluency

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“I want to be fluent enough in the Irish language in a year’s time, to be able to have a simple conversation with a native.”

What could be better than having this generally unattainable goal for yourself? Possibly, it’s to to have a goal of fluency.

Although (or because) the following audio is based on life and meaning, I found it relates quite closely to our language journeys:

Building on Tommy James assertions:

• Your goals are your own obstacles
  • Aiming for fluency in the Irish language is setting yourself up for unhappiness and self-judgement. “Oh I should be able to understand more by now!!”.
• In life there is no purpose, no meaning. But take this as a positive thing:
• Adults play games. There are rules. There is victory. There is loss. There is self-defeat.
• Children play. There is intrinsic value in the joy of this.
  • How can you play in the Irish language, through the language? Perhaps it’s playing with words, listening to Raidió na Gaeltachta for the sake of it, or singing along to a song.
  • You start playing new infinite games. You see the possibilities around you, rather than the limits you have.

Ultimately, can’t we all agree that the Irish language should be a source of nourishment for us, rather than a source of self-judgement? If you feel self-judgement when you consider dipping into the language, it might be time to see the language as a new source of nourishment for you.

P.S. What’s your experience of trying to achieve goals in learning Irish? Record your question on the podcast homepage.