After the success of the first Cúla Caint App, TG4 have just released the second version of the app, Cúla Caint 2. The app, aimed at younger pupils, is in the same format as the first and provides lots of fun Irish language words. The vocabulary is presented in five groups: Bia, Dathanna, Uimhreacha, Éadaí agus an Aibitír. It includes the written and the spoken version of each word accompanied by clear images of the word.
The purpose of the app is purely to teach vocabulary – words are learned in isolation and are not given in context in a sentence. However, this gives the teacher an opportunity to use the app as a prompt for language development as Gaeilge. In the numbers section of the app, the word for the number is given first, then a noun is shown and then the number is shown with the noun. This would be a great help in demonstrating which numbers need a séimhiú or urú in the next word.
In the alphabet section, letters of the alphabet are shown in threes. When clicked, each letter is shown in upper and lower case, together with an illustration, a word and the pronunciation of the word. Where letters are not used to begin words as Gaeilge (k, w), just the letter itself is shown. I didn’t think that J was used to start a word as Gaeilge but “Jíp” is mentioned for “jeep”. “Seilimide” is also used for the letter S and I hadn’t heard that word used before – “seilide” would be more commonly used. Even Focal.ie didn’t come up with a translation for “seilimide”.
However, given that there are so few apps for Gaeilge on the market, it is great to see that TG4 is recognising the need to marry technology with Gaeilge in a fun and interesting way. This app has just been released this week, along with “OLLY an Veain Bheag Bhán“. Another app, “Ag Spraoi le Claude”, will be released later in November and there are plans for more apps in the future. This is great news for teachers who are using mobile technology in the classroom.
This app is suitable for iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad and can be downloaded for free on iTunes – iPod version HERE and iPad version HERE. As yet, there is no Andriod version of the app available.
