Adult & Lifelong Learning
Although children’s education is very important to the future of Gaelic, the number of adults learning Gaelic is just as important. Many learners have done sterling work in helping to sustain the language, and they make a vital contribution to the Gaelic culture and its diversity. It should be remembered that more than 34,000 people in the last Census (2001) were able to read, write or understand Gaelic. If we are able to bring half of them to fluency, it will have a significant impact on the development of Gaelic.
There are many opportunities for adults to learn Gaelic throughout Scotland and organisations like Clì Gàidhlig and the learning centres are involved in teaching Gaelic to adults. There are conversation classes and introductory courses available in the community and some places deliver beginners’ and other courses in Gaelic. There are plenty of self-teaching courses and distance learning options – Sabhal Mòr Ostaig has a Gaelic Access Course which is delivered through distance learning and people from all over the world are taking advantage of it. Go on, pick up a word or two of Gaelic and in no time at all you will be part of the Gaelic world – a lively, vibrant world which makes a valuable contribution to Scotland’s culture.