Learn English in Ireland - English Courses in Ireland

Lough Gur – a magical place in County Limerick!

2012-01-04T08:44:00.000-08:00

Lough Gur is located in the scenic countryside in County Limerick, just 20km from Limerick City. Lough Gur is one of Ireland's most important archaeological and historical gems. The area has been a place of continuous habitation for at least 5,500 years since the arrival of the Neolithic people and represents in microcosm, each of the different ages. The lake side comprises of stone circles and megalith tombs, crannogs and castles. Trained guides, who are local to the area, can show you the many historical sites in Lough Gur.

In the centre of Lough Gur, just adjacent to the lake there is a small Heritage centre, built to replicate a home of the age. The centre houses a number of display cases which illustrate the story of the manufacture and use of flint and bronze material and their eventual deposition in the area as well as their recovery - whether as a result of scientific excavation or random finds.

There is a replica of the Bronze Shield and of Stone Age pottery as well as other artefacts depicting the lifestyle of the first inhabitants of Lough Gur. The original bronze Shield has been on long term loan in the Natural History Museum in Dublin. Hear about Hempenstall- the wicked hangman known as the “Walking Gallows " Learn about the Earl of Desmond one of Irelands greatest noble families, their mighty fortresses at Lough Gur, and how they fell from grace for defying the English crown.

A trip to Lough Gur is well worth while for people of all ages! Students who come to the Limerick area to do English courses in Ireland are very welcome. It is a great way to experience some of Ireland's ancient history and culture. Its also a great way to learn English in Ireland.

Tours can last one to two and a half hours or we can tailor a tour suited to yours or your groups needs. For more information please check the our website: http://www.loughgur.com/

Written by:

Roseanne Dunne

Marketing Facilitator
Lough Gur Development Society
http://www.loughgur.com/

Learn English in Ireland; One of the World's Top Tourist Destinations!

2011-08-12T03:24:00.000-07:00

There has never been a better time to do an english course in Ireland. To see some of the many highlights and attractions that Ireland has to offer, you can view this excellent video made by Tourism Ireland.

New Flights from Paris to Shannon International Airport!

2010-11-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

Good news for the Limerick & Shannon Region; Aer Lingus is to begin a new service of flights from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris to Shannon Airport, commencing on 17th December, 2010. The new flights will run 3 times per week. This new route is a significant boost for tourism in the West of Ireland. Paris is one of the world's busiest airports. A large population live in Paris and the surrounding region. This new direct service will greatly facilitate the many students from France who come to Ireland to learn English and attend English courses in Ireland.

LTI offer intensive, one-to-one, homestay and farmstay English courses in the Limerick and Shannon Region. They have a large network of host families who are delighted to welcome French students who want to learn English in Ireland. The Limerick & Shannon Region is also a great place to enjoy Ireland as there are many attractions; King John's Castle, spectacular Cliffs of Moher, beaches of the atlantic coastline, the Burren Region landscape, Bunratty Castle & Folk Park and charming towns and villages like Adare and Killaloe.

La compagnie aérienne irlandaise Aer Lingus va opérer un vol, Paris Charles de Gaulle - Shannon trois fois par semaine à partir du 17 décembre prochain. Entre ses centres urbains pleins de vie et ses impressionnants paysages d’une belle campagne intacte, ses plages immaculées et sa côte magnifique, la région de Limerick et Shannon est une formidable destination où venir étudier l’anglais.

LTI offre des séjours linguistiques en Irlande chez votre professeur dans la région de Limerick et Shannon. L’Irlande a été nommé comme étant le pays le plus accueillant au monde par le guide de voyage Lonely Planet. Vous avez donc la garantie d’un accueil chaleureux de votre famille Irlandaise ainsi qu’un environnement familial accueillant pour pratiquer votre anglais. LTI propose également des séjours linguistiques à la ferme en Irlande. Un séjour linguistique à la ferme en Irlande donne l’occasion unique d’être totalement plongé dans la langue et de participer aux activités de la ferme.

My Farmstay Experience in Ireland!: Nicole, Italy, 31 years old

2010-09-14T02:39:00.000-07:00

My name is Nicole and I am from Italy. I had the opportunity to take part twice in a farmstay programmme in Ireland. I loved the farmstay so much that I went back a second time to the same farm!

The first time was in winter (cold winter – it was in December, for New Year’s Eve) and the second time it was in June. In December I really wanted to experience something new and different and I definitely succeeded! The Farmstay in Ireland was a completely new experience, out of the everyday world, out of the city traffic and daily stress. I worked with horses on a family farm in the beautiful countryside of County Tipperary. I had to clean the stables every morning and to do some other small works at home. I would definitely suggest this kind of farmstay for all those that, like me, want to escape for a while from the frenetic city life, work, stressful situations and find themselves in contact with nature, silence, animals.

Moreover, I had the possibility to speak English a lot, because I was alone with my host family and ever time that I didn’t know how to express a concept, I asked and they answered to me. It was an intensive English course, just not in a class, but in a farm with a real family. It really is a great way to learn English.

The second time I came back to the same family to improve my English and I decided to take some horse riding lessons from a personal teacher, too. 1 week of English speaking and horse riding. Although my horse (which you can see in the picture) was very “stubborn” (a new term that I learned), it was really funny. The weather was also wonderful, fresh and sunny. That is why I would surely suggest this time of the year to spend some time in Ireland because of the milder weather. Moreover I had the opportunity to visit some of the local markets where typical farm products were sold. I got in contact with some local people and I can assure you that they are very, very friendly. Calmer and relaxed in some way. I also met some Italian people who decided to live in Ireland to play music and I think that this is the ideal country to express musical passion. I visited Ennis, Cahir and Limerick.

My host family was the best that you can ever find. They always found some time to spend with me and talk with me, they explained to me how to work in a farm (they taught me how to cut grass…which was quite funny!) and also gave to me a lot of information about the Irish culture and politics.

From Language Travel Ireland I always received all the information to my enquiries and prompt answers to all my questions. I found this agency on the Internet and now I can say that I am really satisfied with them and this experience. I would recommend Language Travel Ireland for all the people who want to visit and do an English course in Ireland, because they can give you detailed information about the country, as they are Irish, they know all about Ireland.

I would surely go back to Ireland to learn more English and to see again these wonderful places and nice people.

Nicole (Trieste, Italy)

Corsi speciali; corsi intensivi di inglese, corsi di inglese in fattoria, corso di inglese commerciale, corso di inglese con due studenti, corso di inglese & sport o cultura.

LTI Launch Website in Italian - Vacanza studio in Irlanda!

2010-09-07T02:56:00.000-07:00

LTI have recently launched their website in full Italian version. Full information on all our English courses in Ireland can be viewed in the Italian version of the new website. In recent years, an increasing number of our students coming to Ireland to study English are from Italy. LTI felt it was about time that the website was available in Italian. Ireland is a very popular destination for Italian students who come to Ireland to learn English and experience Irish life and culture. The English & Farmstay programme in particular is proving very popular with Italian students. Both Irish and Italian people share a love of tradition, culture, good food and beautiful countryside.

We look forward to welcoming many more Italian students on our English courses in Ireland in the coming years! We invite you to look at the new website and please contact us with any comments about the website or stories if you have already been to Ireland to learn English.

IMPARATE L’INGLESE VIVENDOLO!

Vacanza studio in Irlanda

Vivendo e studiando a casa del vostro insegnante non dovrete recarvi a scuola ogni giorno. Vi verrà offerta un’opportunità unica di apprendere la lingua Inglese. Le conversazioni durante i pasti o le gite, i programmi televisivi ed i contatti sociali saranno tutti in lingua Inglese. Il vostro insegnante si occuperà solo di voi, esaminando i vostri problemi, perché sarete l'unico studente (a meno che non preferiate la nostra formula "due per corso"). Non potrete parlare la vostra lingua, perché non avrete occasione di incontrare persone che la parlano.

Vacanza studio in fattoria in Irlanda

Sperimentate la vita di una vera fattoria Irlandese prendendo parte alle attività quotidiane e divertendovi a cucinare piatti casalinghi. Vivete all’aria aperta, circondati dalla vista spettacolare dell’entroterra e della campagna Irlandese! Le attività tipiche di una fattoria sono molto varie: dar da mangiare agli animali, fare giardinaggio, raccogliere la frutta e le uova fresche di giornata, mungere le mucche o le capre, raccogliere il fieno... e tanto altro ancora!

Corsi speciali; corsi intensivi di inglese, corsi di inglese in fattoria, corso di inglese commerciale, corso di inglese con due studenti, corso di inglese & sport o cultura.

St. Patrick's Day Festival 2010: Enjoyed by All!

2010-03-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

The St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the majestic city of Limerick were launched in style by the National Lottery Skyfest which light up the skies with an amazing fireworks display. King John’s Castle provided a stunning backdrop to this year’s breathtaking fireworks display where dazzling colours and explosive effects were unleashed over one of Ireland’s most well-known and cherished treasures, the River Shannon. And all this choreographed to an amazing soundtrack.

St. Patrick is the national saint of Ireland and S. Patrick’s Day is one of the most important public holidays in Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on the 17th March and on this day the people in Ireland and Irish people all over the world celebrate. Indeed, this has become a world festival with parades taking place from the USA to Australia! Even the world famous Sydney Opera house went green!

This year, Limerick city was in celebration with a full programme of activities for the festival weekend. Festival activities included live bands, fire jugglers, face painters and much more. The main event, of course, was the St. Patrick’s Day parade which was one of the largest in Ireland. A great time was had by all including thousands of students, visitors and tourists who came to Limerick and Ireland for the celebrations!

English and Farmstay Programme in Ireland - A Great Success in 2009

2010-02-08T03:14:00.000-08:00

Our English & Farmstay Programme in Ireland proved to be one of our most popular programmes during 2009. We are expecting a very busy year in 2010. The feedback from students was very positivie. They really enjoyed staying on a real Irish farm and getting involved in the farm activities. The English & Farmstay programme gives a great opportunity for an authentic experience of Irish life and culture as you stay with a real family on a real farm and get involved in the day to day life of the family and the farm. It is also an opportunity to enjoy the fresh air, home cooking and beautiful countryside of Ireland.

Like all of our English Courses in Ireland, the most important part of our English & Farmstay programme is that it allows the student to learn English by receiving a full immersion in the English language. Students speak English all the time as there are no other foreign students on the farm at the same time. Our students have found that getting involved in the farm activities makes it easier to build confidence in speaking English.

Our English & Farmstay holidays in Ireland are different as they allow the student the opportunity to get involved in life on the farm and the farm activities. A lot of other so-called farmstay holidays are B&B or guest houses that happen to be on a farm. You are separated from the family and you eat your meals alone. You never receive the opportunity to get involved in the farm activities.

Our students have told us that they love our Farmstay Programmes as they offer the opportunity to get involved in farm life and family life. You are treated as a member of the host family from the moment you arrive. You eat all your meals with the family. Most importantly, your English improves very quickly. We expect that demand will be very high for our English & Farmstay Programmes this year. Anyone interested in booking should contact us as early as possible to avoid dissapointment.

If you have stayed on one of our farm stays in Ireland, we would be delighted to hear from you and to receive your comments or photos.

Un séjour linguistique à la ferme en Irlande vous donne l’occasion unique d’être totalement plongé dans la langue en vivant avec votre propre professeur particulier et sa famille dans leur ferme en Irlande. Les étudiants bénéficient des cours d’anglais particuliers de leur professeur, de l’hébergement en pension complète et participent aux activités de la ferme. Nos séjours linguistiques à la ferme en Irlande sont vraiment différents de toute autre expérience d’apprentissage de l’anglais.

Christmas Time in Ireland!

2009-12-16T04:42:00.000-08:00

Christmas will be here soon and Santa will be arriving to deliver presents for all the good boys and girls. Like other countries around the world, Christmas in Ireland is celebrated with great joy and enthusiam. In Ireland, there are some unique traditions around celebrating Christmas. Read on to see how families in Ireland celebrate Christmas.

Candle in the Window

The tradition of placing a lighted candle in the window of a family house on Christmas eve is still very popular in Ireland. It is said that the candle is a sign of welcome for Mary and Joseph who on the first Christmas eve were looking for somewhere to stay. According to the tradition, the candle is light by the youngest member of the family and should be extinguished by a girl with with the name "Mary". The name Mary was very popular in Ireland in the old days.

Decorations

Decorating your house both inside and outside is very popular in Ireland. The holly bush grows wild. It is a tradition to decorate the family home with holly during Christmas. A holly wreath is often placed on the front door of the house. This is a tradition that has been passed down through the years. In modern times in Ireland, a lot of families now use electric Christmas lights on the outsides of their homes. All decorations are traditionally taken down during Little Christmas (January 6th). It is considered bad luck to take them down any earlier than this. Christmas decorations are then put away and stored until the next Christmas!

Santa Claus

In Ireland, Santa Claus or "Santie" arrives late on Christmas Eve after all the children have gone to bed. He leaves presents under the tree and fills the Christmas stockings. The tradition is to leave something for Santa to help him on his long journey. So maybe Santa will be left a mince pie and a glass of milk or Guinness! And of course, a carrot for Rudolph the Reindeer.

The traditional Gaelic Greeting at Christmas

The traditional Irish or 'Gaelic' for 'Happy Christmas' is 'Nollaig Shona Dhuit!', pronounced 'null-ig hun-a-dit'.

A Time for Family

Christmas is a very important time in Ireland for the family. Older children who have moved away from home always try to return home for the Christmas celebrations. It is one of the few days during the year when all the family can be together and spend time together. All shops and pubs are closed on Christmas day in Ireland. On Christmas morning, there is great excitement when the family members exchange gifts and the children open their presents from Santa. Most families normally attend Christmas services at church and then the family spends the day and night together. A great feast is had for Christmas dinner which usually includes a turkey, ham, Christmas cake and maybe some wine or guinness.

We would be very interested to hear about Christmas traditions in other countries. If you are reading this and from another country, please write to us and tell us all about your Christmas. We would be delighted to hear about it. Or if you are in Ireland to learn English during the Christmas period, please tell us all about your experience.

Happy Christmas and a happy new year to everyone!

Hope Santa Comes!

Ireland: The World's Friendliest Country

2009-11-03T07:46:00.000-08:00

Ireland topped a list of the World's Friendliest Countries in a survey drawn up by the Lonely Planet travel guide group in 2008. The Lonely Planet Bluelist books are annual collections of the top trends, destinations and experiences around the world. In the 2008 survey, Ireland comes in above Fiji, Indonesia and Malawi as the friendliest travel destination.

People were said to have 'a deliciously dark sense of humour'. The Emerald Isle has 'a welcoming attitude towards strangers' and the Irish can find craic in boom or bust eras, Lonely Planet said.

Visitors are always 'in for a treat' and with 'The Troubles' ended, 'a cautious optimism reigns supreme, infecting the land once again with the sense that anything's possible'.

"Friendly Ireland tops Lonely Planet list" to read the full article go to RTE.ie

Over 130,000 students come to Ireland each year to learn English. The warm welcome of the people of the of Ireland makes it easy to learn English and to build confidence in speaking English. You will be treated as a member of the family from the moment you arrive. Students are guaranteed to have lots of opportunities to speak English with the friendly Irish people. An English course in Ireland takes place not only with your English teacher and host family but every where you go and with everyone you meet!

L’Irlande est une destination de plus en plus populaire parmi les étudiants d’anglais venant du monde entier. Chaque année, plus de 130 000 étudiants viennent en Irlande pour apprendre l’anglais. Parmi les destinations touristiques les plus populaires, l’Irlande a été nommée Pays le plus Accueillant au Monde par le guide de voyage Lonely Planet. Celui-ci explique que les visiteurs ne pourront qu’apprécier leur voyage, les Irlandais ayant le sens de l’humour, une nature accueillante et la capacité de s’amuser en toute circonstance.

Please send us your comments and let us know if you think Ireland is the "World's Friendliest Country".

Halloween Traditions in Ireland

2009-10-29T05:30:00.000-07:00

The Celts celebrated Halloween as Samhain, 'All Hallowtide' - the 'Feast of the Dead', when the dead revisited the mortal world. The celebration marked the end of Summer and the start of the Winter months. During the eighth century the Catholic Church designated the first day of November as 'All Saints Day ('All Hallows') - a day of commemoration for those Saints that did not have a specific day of remembrance. The night before was known as 'All Hallows Eve' which, over time, became known as Halloween.

Here are the most notable Irish Halloween Traditions:

Colcannon for Dinner: Boiled Potato, Curly Kale (a cabbage) and raw Onions are provided as the traditional Irish Halloween dinner. Clean coins are wrapped in baking paper and placed in the potato for children to find and keep.

The Barnbrack Cake: The traditional Halloween cake in Ireland is the barnbrack which is a fruit bread. Each member of the family gets a slice. Great interest is taken in the outcome as there is a piece of rag, a coin and a ring in each cake. If you get the rag then your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin then you can look forward to a prosperous year. Getting the ring is a sure sign of impending romance or continued happiness.

The Ivy Leaf: Each member of the family places a perfect ivy leaf into a cup of water and it is then left undisturbed overnight. If, in the morning, a leaf is still perfect and has not developed any spots then the person who placed the leaf in the cup can be sure of 12 months health until the following Halloween. If not.....

The Pumpkin: Carving Pumpkins dates back to the eighteenth century and to an Irish blacksmith named Jack who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry to Heaven. He was condemned to wander the earth but asked the Devil for some light. He was given a burning coal ember which he placed inside a turnip that he had gouged out.

The tradition of Jack O'Lanterns was born - the bearer being the wandering blacksmith - a damned soul. Villagers in Ireland hoped that the lantern in their window would keep the wanderer away. When the Irish emigrated in millions to America there was not a great supply of turnips so pumpkins were used instead.

Halloween Costumes: On Halloween night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house. 'Help the Halloween Party' and 'Trick or Treat' were the cries to be heard at each door. This tradition of wearing costumes also dates back to Celtic times. On the special night when the living and the dead were at their closest the Celtic Druids would dress up in elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits and devils in case they encountered other devils and spirits during the night. By disguising they hoped that they would be able to avoid being carried away at the end of the night. This explains why witches, goblins and ghosts remain the most popular choices for the costumes.

Snap Apple: After the visits to the neighbours the Halloween games begin, the most popular of which is Snap Apple. An apple is suspended from a string and children are blindfolded. The first child to get a decent bite of the apple gets to keep their prize. The same game can be played by placing apples in a basin of water and trying to get a grip on the apple without too much mess!

The Bonfire: The Halloween bonfire is a tradition to encourage dreams of who your future husband or wife is going to be. The idea was to drop a cutting of your hair into the burning embers and then dream of you future loved one. Halloween was one of the Celt 'fire' celebrations.

Blind Date: Blindfolded local girls would go out into the fields and pull up the first cabbage they could find. If their cabbage had a substantial amount of earth attached to the roots then there future loved one would have money. Eating the cabbage would reveal the nature of their future husband - bitter or sweet!

Another way of finding your future spouse is to peel an apple in one go. If done successfully the single apple peel could be dropped on the floor to reveal the initials of the future-intended.

Anti-Fairy Measures: Fairies and goblins try to collect as many souls as they can at Halloween but if they met a person who threw the dust from under their feet at the Fairy then they would be obliged to release any souls that they held captive.

Holy water was sometimes anointed on farm animals to keep them safe during the night. If the animals were showing signs of ill health on All Hallows Eve then they would be spat on to try to ward off any evil spirits.

Irish Halloween Traditions - An article provided by The Information about Ireland Site.

Happy Halloween from Ireland!
If you are doing an English course in Ireland during the Halloween time, we hope you enjoy the celebrations. Please contact us to let us know about your experience. Please tell us about any new English words you learned or traditions you came across.

LTI Website Launched in French www.englishireland.ie/fr

2009-10-24T07:11:00.000-07:00

www.englishireland.ie/fr

Language Travel Ireland have recently launched their website in full French version. Full information on all their English courses in Ireland can be viewed on the new French website. Ireland is a very popular destination for French students who come to Ireland to learn English. The English & Farmstay programme in particular is proving very popular amongst French students.

Apprenez l’anglais en le vivant!

Apprenez l’anglais en Irlande. Nous vous proposons des cours particuliers d’anglais intensifs chez votre professeur en Irlande. Nous pensons que le meilleur moyen d’apprendre l’anglais est de le vivre. Vous logerez donc chez votre professeur et serez en contact direct avec la vie de famille et la culture irlandaises. Votre professeur vous donnera des cours particuliers d’anglais (formule one-to-one). Le but de nos séjours linguistiques est de vous aider à apprendre l’anglais le plus rapidement possible.

Programmes spéciaux: Anglais à la Ferme, Anglais & Sports ou Culture, Anglais Commercial.

Learn English by Living it in Ireland

2009-05-13T11:43:00.001-07:00

I believe the best way to learn English is by living it. So I decided to start my own business in Ireland that would offer foreign students the opportunity to learn English by living with a real Irish family and receiving private one to one, intensive English lessons. Our organisation is called Language Travel Ireland and our website is www.englishireland.ie/.

Our English courses in Ireland provide the unique opportunity to learn English by living it . Students receive a unique experience of Irish family life and culture. The aim of our English courses in Ireland is to help students make rapid improvement in their English in the shortest possible time. All of our English courses are intensive but varied. Students are really surprised at how much their English improves in such a short period of time.

We invite you to look at our new website and to let us know what you think.

Why the photo of the cattle you may ask?

We have a special course called English & Farmstay programme;

The English & Farmstay Programme provides the unique opportunity for a full immersion experience, living with your own private teacher and family on their farm in Ireland. Students receive private English lessons from their own private teacher, farm activities and full board accommodation.

Students can experience life on an Irish farm, take part in the farm activities and enjoy the home cooking, fresh air and fine views of the beautiful countryside of the Golden Vale region of Ireland which borders the counties of Limerick, Tipperary and Cork. This is the Midwest region of Ireland.

Farm activities will vary depending on the farm but some examples are as follows: fruit picking, harvesting the vegetables, collecting eggs from the hens, feeding the farm animals, milking the cows/goats, haymaking, preparing the firewood, working in the garden, preparing bedding for the animals etc.