My Irish Immersion Routine Online from Abroad
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I don't want to spend another year saying I wish I was fluent in Irish. As the Irish Polyglot, I've wanted Irish to be among my best languages for years, so preparing for a B2 exam gives that wish a deadline.
In this video embedded below, and expanded and explained in this article, I share how I'm preparing for the Irish B2 exam, despite the fact that I'm actually travelling through Italy. My week is otherwise full of Italian, but I've made Wednesday my Irish immersion day, with exposure and studying leading up to an evening of speaking online.
Most of what I'm using is free, and the same approach can work for other languages too. You don't have to wait until you can travel to give your language a proper place in your life.
My B2 goal
B2 is an upper-intermediate level, and it's the milestone where I feel comfortable starting to call myself fluent. That's my personal milestone; it doesn't mean knowing every word or never making a mistake, and other people may draw that line somewhere else but I've found that most polyglots agree with me on where fluency generally begins.
I feel I have a decent chance of passing, but vocabulary is one of the gaps I want to work on before the exam. If I'm quite satisfied with my result, the goal is to aim for C1 next, and do a similar “digital immersion” technique next year, since I also likely won't be living in Ireland leading up to that exam either.
If you're considering the same exam, the official TEG website has all the info on exam timing, what it entails, example tests etc.
Watching Irish television with TG4
TG4 is Ireland's Irish-language television channel, with loads to watch online for free. Most of its Irish-language content is available worldwide without a VPN, although some programmes have rights restrictions.
I'm watching Ros na Rún, a soap opera I find easy to follow, alongside special-interest programmes, documentaries and the news. That gives me different levels of difficulty and exposure to various dialects.
Ros na Rún has both Irish and English subtitle options on the player. I use the Irish subtitles to see how something is written while hearing it spoken, then replay a short bit if I've missed it. I'll check the English briefly when I want to be absolutely sure of what was said, but leaving English subtitles on can tempt me to read them instead of listening to the Irish.
You can try that with a short section before committing to a whole episode. Listen with Irish subtitles, replay the bit you want to understand and check the English if you need it.
Reading An Páipéar and Seachtain through BorrowBox
My reading includes An Páipéar, an Irish-language newspaper, and Seachtain, the Irish-language supplement in the Irish Independent. I access them through BorrowBox with my Irish library membership, without paying separately for either publication.
To check access, start with Libraries Ireland's BorrowBox ePress information. You'll need your library card number and PIN, and you should check your library's catalogue for these titles. If you don't already have a card, read the library membership requirements. If you don't fit the criteria to get access to these newspapers for free, you can sign up to paid subscriptions to receive them online directly from the source, or use other free text-news alternatives, like Tuairisc.ie.
Reading gives me time I don't have when somebody's talking. I can stop on a sentence and look up a word without missing the next thing they say, and an article about something I've already heard on the news gives me some context to work with.
One article is plenty to start with. Pick out a useful phrase without making the entire newspaper your homework!
Listening to Irish radio and podcasts
You can listen to Irish on these four stations:
Between them, you'll find live programmes and podcasts or listen-back material, so you can explore what's on and choose something that interests you. There are also dedicated Irish-language podcasters covering different interests if you search for Gaeilge in your podcast app of choice.
If a live programme feels too fast, try something you can replay, so you can spend time on a passage you want to understand without having to keep up with everything that comes after it.
Keeping up with Irish vocabulary in Anki
Alongside the watching and reading, I'm keeping up with my Irish Anki flashcard decks and adding new words to a database as I come across them. Vocabulary is a particular focus for my exam preparation.
Anki's desktop software and AnkiWeb synchronisation are free, as is AnkiDroid for Android. The official AnkiMobile app for iOS is paid, so the cost depends on how you want to use it. If you use an iPhone, you can still test out Anki using the free AnkiWeb option in Safari, without the offline options.
For your own word lookups, Teanglann has dictionary, pronunciation and grammar resources, while Foclóir.ie is another useful dictionary. These are extra reference options to have beside an article or a set of flashcards.
Bringing Irish into social media
I have an Irish-language Instagram account, @ilteangach, and you can look at who I follow there for ideas. I've done something similar for the other languages I actively maintain, with over a dozen Instagram and TikTok accounts for language practice. Starting your own separate social media account is great for training the algorithm to only show you content in that language whenever you switch to it.
A caption under a photo or a short video gives me a small amount of Irish to get into when I'm not sitting down for a longer study session. People are talking about things happening in their lives, so there's something to respond to beyond a vocabulary exercise.
You can use Irish here too, by writing a comment or putting together a post of your own, even if you only have a short reply to contribute. If you use TikTok, my Irish account is @gaeilgebhriste.
Speaking practice with Gaelchultúr
While in Italy, I've been able to practise French, German and Spanish in person for free, but finding Irish speakers outside Ireland is harder. For that, I'm using online speaking practice.
My paid B2 course with Gaelchultúr involves three hours of spoken practice every Wednesday evening. That's why I've chosen Wednesday for my Irish immersion day: the rest of the day's work leads up to real conversations.
Check the current course listings for dates, schedules and fees. If a course doesn't suit you, you can look for an online learner community to practise with for free, or arrange private lessons through a teacher platform.
Make room for speaking in whichever version you choose. Watching Irish television and recognising words on a page are useful, but you also need practice expressing what you want to say to another person.
Building your own immersion routine
My Wednesday routine combines Irish television, reading, listening and vocabulary study, followed by conversations in class. You can adapt that around your own commitments, without needing a whole day or copying my B2 workload.
Start with a speaking opportunity you can return to regularly, then choose something to watch or read before it. If you've been reading about a subject in Irish, try talking about it in your next conversation; you'll find out which words you can actually use and which ones you still need.
You also don't need every resource on this page to get started. Pick something you'll want to come back to, and give it a place in your week. For a broader selection, including materials to help you get started with the language, see our Irish learning resources.
Support for your own language challenge
If you'd like help putting your own language challenge into practice, my Fluent in 3 Months Bootcamp offers 90 days of weekly group coaching, support from me and the coaching team, and a community learning alongside you.
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