Letslearnirish

Let’s Learn Irish is an online community of Irish learners, mentors and teachers, also known as ‘Comhphobal na Gaeilge’ (The Irish Language Community), or Gaeltacht.net. Our community is home to thousands of learners and mentors from around the globe who are passionate about protecting and promoting the Irish language. We provide daily classes, weekly conversation sessions and language workshops for a global audience. Ever since our first Irish classes began in Washington DC in 2009, we’ve endeavoured to foster an inclusive, international community of Irish language enthusiasts. Over the years we have helped thousands of students on their Irish language journey! Below are some of our community highlights:

2009: First in-person Irish classes begin in Washington DC.

2011: Our classes were featured in The Irish Times, as well as BBC America, NPR, The Washington Post, RTE Drivetime and more.

2013: Adapted the TEG curriculum as a framework for our language courses.

2017: Established the week-long language festival, Féile na Gaeilge. Founded Cór DC, the first Irish language choir in the USA.

2018: Began our first online classes, and hosted the first TEG oral exams in Washington DC. We were subsequently given a special reception at the Irish Embassy by Ambassador Dan Mulhall in June, and our choir, Cór DC, performed at the Irish Embassy in December.

2019: Our online initiatives for Irish learners around the world were profiled on both TG4 and Raidió na Gaeltachta. We hosted full-credit TEG exams at A1 and A2 level in Washington DC, the only venue to do so in the USA. Introduced our monthly Free Starter Class for new learners.

2020: Established structured Comhrá sessions for all learners and our Oíche Oscailte/Open Night for everyone to attend.

2022: As the online Irish language community continues to grow, our efforts are profiled in the Irish Echo, Raidió na Gaeltachta and Nós magazine.

The 3 spirals in our logo symbolise the research-informed approach that we have adapted in our community. Let’s Learn Irish utilises the 3C’s Model for Online Language Communities, developed by Dr. Ronan Connolly through a 4-year research project at the School of Education, National University of Ireland, Galway. The 3C’s design model emphasises learner Connection, language Communication and shared Collaboration in a global community of Irish language learners. Our sociolinguistic perspective emphasises communication and authenticity within an interactive, online language community. This learner-centred approach enables us to provide a vibrant, online space for Irish learners from around the world, and we pursue this mission by providing structured courses, conversation and community workshops.