CAPAILL Computer-Assisted Practice Activities for Irish Language Learners
Contents	Getting Started	Begin Exercises	Background
Using CAPAILL You can use CAPAILL in several different ways, depending on your background and aims. Although it is not designed as a standalone self-instructional course, you can use it to support your own learning if you have already gained some competence in the topics examined in each unit. Guidance notes are presented on each topic as they are encountered, so even with a rudimentary grasp of the topic you should be able to use the associated exercises. Nevertheless, the units are of limited scope (for example, of the verbs only the copula is covered), so that some knowledge of the language has necessarily been assumed. Teachers who wish to use the package should ensure that the topics are well-covered in class and then set the exercises as homework or classwork to reinforce what the students have been taught. The aspects of language that the package addresses are: 1. The forms and use of the copula. 2. The noun and adjective with emphasis on when aspiration occurs and the changes that they undergo in the genitive and plural. 3. Forms and uses of prepositions. You may follow these topics individually using the index, but you are advised to work through each exercise in order covering all topics as you go. You should read the instructions for each exercise before you start, making sure you understand the point of language being explored and also what you are required to do in that exercise. Scoring You will be awarded a score at the end of each exercise. If you have not scored close to 100%, you probably haven’t understood the topic fully and you should redo the exercise. This repetition is key to gaining any benefit from the package. It is only through repeated practice that your understanding of the topics will improve. Also, if your understanding of the earlier exercises is flawed, you will gain virtually no benefit from the later exercises. Getting Started Work through this short introductory tutorial to learn how to navigate through the exercises and enter accents on your keyboard. This package was developed by the Centre for Irish and Celtic Studies in the University of Ulster at Coleraine with funding from the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies.