Seachdain na GÀidhlig ’26:
Tachartas A1/A2/B1
World Gaelic Week ’26:
A1/A2/B1 EVENT
With World Gaelic Week 2026 drawing to a close, we held an A1-B1 (i.e. beginners to early intermediates) learning event at An Lòchran on Saturday 28th February, from 2-5pm. Here’s a recap of what we got up to!
With 17 or 18 people in attendance, we kicked off with a wee round of introductions on our tables. Everyone had to say their name, where they were from, where they were currently living, and so on. For some, this exercise is a matter of routine; for those new to the language, it can be a challenge 🙂 Everyone did a good job though.
Reading & Writing
We continued with a game based on reading Gaelic sentences (some easy, some harder) and trying to guess their meaning. You’ll find all 15 sentences among the slide deck below ⬇️ Expressions that feature here range from the simple (Ciamar a tha thu? - How are you?) to the more traditional/established (’S e sàr-sheinneadair a th’ innte - She’s an excellent singer) and the more ‘newfangled’ (sìobar-eucoir - Cybercrime).
To build upon this, we then did a writing exercise on our tables. Everyone had to write a wee paragraph about themselves, and what they’re doing in order to learn Gaelic. After taking 10 minutes for this, everyone read out what they’d written.
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After a well-earned tea-and-coffee break, we returned for part 2, and to practice the other side of the language - listening and speaking.
Listening & Speaking
Having warmed up with the reading and writing exercises, the attendees now had to listen to 5 clips of spoken Gaelic (starting with A1 - i.e. beginner level, and getting up to C1, i.e. advanced level). Below is an overview of each recording, and what everyone was asked to figure out in each case. The sources of each recording are given, along with the full links, so please check those out in order to benefit fully from these fantastic Gaelic learning resources.
Sgrìobh sìos na tha gach neach ag ràdh an seo. Write down what each person is saying here.
Full recording courtesy of SpeakGaelic: LINK.
Sgrìobh sìos na tha Ruairidh Alastair ag ràdh an seo. Write down what Ruairidh Alastair is saying here.
Full recording courtesy of SpeakGaelic: LINK.
Dè thachair ri Anndra mar chluicheadair ball-coise? What happened to Andrew as a footballer?
Full recording courtesy of Ruairidh Macilleathain (Roddy MacLean) and An Litir Bheag: LINK.
An deach an stòiridh seo a sgrìobhadh ann an Gàidhlig bho thùs? Was this story originally written in Gaelic?
Full recording courtesy of Linda NicLeòid (Linda MacLeod) and Comhairle nan Leabhraichean (The Gaelic Books Council): LINK.
Dè an cur-seachad air a bheil Màiri a-mach, agus cuin a dh’ionnsaich i e? What hobby is Mary talking about, and when did she learn it?
Full recording courtesy of Màiri Huige (Mary Huige), Coinneach MacÌomhair (Kenneth Maciver) and Tobar an Dualchais (Kist o’ Riches): LINK.
Lastly, we brought the afternoon to a close by doing a speaking exercise based around the question De na cur-seachadan a th’ agad? Innis dhuinn beagan mu dheidhinn fear no dhà (“What are your hobbies? Tell us about one or two of them”). Everyone did their best to have a go at answering this question and help each other out on their respective tables. After this we tidied up, and anyone who wanted to continue the Gaelic / English conversation headed next door to the Lismore with us for a few wee drinks 🍻
Mòran taing dhan fheadhainn a thàinig a-steach air an fheasgar. Tha sinn an dòchas gun do chòrd Seachdain na Gàidhlig 2026 ribh uile, agus bidh sinn air ais an ath mhìos!
Moira, Andy, Dàibhidh agus Stephen xx
