AN INTERACTIVE website to improve teaching and learning of spoken Irish in post-primary schools was launched yesterday.
Abair Leat! is an online language laboratory in which students can improve their Irish by interacting with native speakers.
Students can use the website to listen to native speakers, record their own material in Irish and do self-correcting exercises. Teachers can assess students’ work and give feedback online or by e-mail.
Oral Irish is set to become more important – from 2012, the percentage of marks for the oral component of Leaving Cert Irish will increase from 25 to 40 per cent.
The pilot phase of Abair Leat!, which will be available in 14 post-primary schools initially, is aimed at supporting first-year students.
Abair Leat! is at www.abairleat.com