“Gaelic and Communication is a challenging, lively, in-depth course, and it made me make a huge effort to strengthen my Gaelic, and it also gave me a clearer picture of the health of Gaelic and Gaelic communities today. I used the language every day – I participated in classroom debates, I learned more about the culture of the language and I started reading Gaelic novels – I would greatly recommend spending a year on this course.”
-Friseal MacRaibeirt (G&C 2017-18)
CertHE Gaelic and Communication is a year-long intensive immersion course aimed at students who are reasonably fluent and who want to rapidly improve their Gaelic. This course is offered both at UHI Outer Hebrides and at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. The following description is specifically about the course as it is delivered at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig:
Depending on their level of Gaelic, all of our BA (Hons) degree students at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig will complete either Gaelic and Communication or An Cùrsa Comais in their first year. Students may also take CertHE Gaelic and Communication as a one-year, standalone immersion course. On this course, students will take advantage of our unique Gaelic-immersion community at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig to make rapid progress in their Gaelic speaking, listening, reading and writing skills. Students are expected to come prepared to use Gaelic at all times and in all situations on-campus.
This is a course for proficient Gaelic speakers who wish to study Gaelic to an expert level in a fully Gaelic-speaking environment. This intensive, immersion course prepares students for university-level Gaelic-medium education and for progression to the second year of our Gaelic-medium BA and BA (Hons) degrees. Students will study Gaelic literature, Gaelic development, creative writing (short story and song), and public speaking, as well as gain a thorough understanding of the Gaelic language itself, including pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, idiom and formal registers. By the end of CertHE Gaelic and Communication, students will be able to speak, understand, read and write Gaelic with complete confidence, allowing them to fully take part in all aspects of modern Gaelic life in Scotland.
On this course our students:
- Study Gaelic to an expert level in a lively immersion environment;
- Read and discuss seven modern Gaelic novels;
- Write short stories, songs and expositions in Gaelic;
- Read scholarly articles in Gaelic on a range of subjects;
- Design and implement two Gaelic development projects on campus;
- Participate in a three-week work experience placement in Gaelic.
On successful completion of this course, students can continue on to:
Our BA (Hons) Gaelic and Education degree, a program that leads to an honours award and a teaching qualification in just four years (including the year in G&C);
Our BA (Hons) Gaelic Language and Culture degree, with an option to specialize in language and community development;
Our BA (Hons) Gaelic and Traditional Music degree;
Our DipHE Gaelic Media program. While the Gaelic and Communication course is not a formal prerequisite, some students nonetheless opt to spend a year in Gaelic and Communication first to strengthen their Gaelic skills before applying to the media program;
Our PGDE Primary Education (Gaelic) and PGDE Secondary Education (Gaelic) programs. Students who already possess an undergraduate degree and who are planning to apply to one of our Gaelic Professional Graduate Diploma in Education programs also often opt to spend a year in Gaelic and Communication to strenthen their Gaelic skills first.
To Apply
For more information and to apply for any of these courses, please follow this link.
“The course is brilliant. The class is great. I came straight from high school where I did Gaelic-medium education, but I felt like I hadn’t learned proper grammar and my reading wasn’t too strong. I wasn’t comfortable speaking in a conversational way to more-fluent speakers, but this course propelled me forward to have that confidence and converse with anyone I want to in Gaelic, to use my Gaelic in the wider world. I have now moved on to the Gaelic media course at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, and I am also presenting on the radio. If it wasn’t for Gaelic is Conaltradh, I wouldn’t have my Gaelic at a level where I would be able to do all of this.”
– Somhairle MacIain (G&C 2020-21)
Gàidhlig is Conaltradh 