Book Review - Speak Irish Now! (Of Language Study)

Authors: Patricia Delia Pugnier and Brian Lee Pugnier
Publisher: Speak Irish Now LLC
Published: 2012, First edition
ISBN:  9781481842389
Pages: 480

Synopsis: Speak Irish Now is designed to get you speaking Irish quickly and effectively, even if you have little or no experience with foreign languages. With over 200 short and powerful lessons, Speak Irish Now will teach you the building blocks of Irish, and can be used for both self-study and group-study.

Review: In the Introduction to the text, Speak Irish Now, the authors of the book tell us that the aim of the book is "to encourage you to speak Irish right away". (p.1) The book has clear and friendly explanations, focused lessons to encourage regular study, even if you have little time, hundreds of examples and two glossaries (Irish to English & English to Irish) that go with the book. Phonetics are included in brackets along side the Irish words to make it easy on the student to pronounce them. These phonetics were written with the American English speaker in mind. The lessons are relatively short; they act like building blocks, which the learner may stack and rearrange to make the sentences they want.

The text also has a teaching tool that goes with it, a YouTube channel that hosts the first fourteen lessons of the book. These lessons are presented by puppets. Working through the first lessons the learner will be able to have a full conversation, simple though it may be. Some of the things that are taught in the beginning include how to say hello, introduce one's self, ask after someone and say good bye in different situations. Speak Irish Now YouTube Channel

I wanted a victim to try this on so I had one of the multitude of cousins that I have try out the first few lessons and tell me what he thought. He has never learned Irish because he always thought the language was just too complicated. He studied the first few lessons and pretty quick he and I could have a full relevant conversation, within the confines of what he learned so far of course. It was amazing. Starting at lesson 15 things do get complicated but the cousin is sticking it out because now he "gets it".