Interview: Students/Staff Alex Gruba, Kathleen Reddy, Mìcheal Speirs

Alex: My name is Alex. Uh, I’m from Poland and I live in Ardvasar. Uh, I came to Scotland three years ago, and I started working here as a housekeeper. And we did classes, Gaelic classes every day, very short classes, thirty minutes, and just one day I woke up and I decided I wanted to learn Gaelic. And I did it.

Kathleen: Um, I’m Kathleen Reddy. I’m from Nova Scotia, and I was born in Cape Breton, which is part of Nova Scotia. And I now am a student at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, and I’m staying here at the college.

Um well I’m just starting but it’s a course in Gaelic with also elements of – I’m doing courses to do with literature, culture, history, that sort of thing. I have, I have a real interest in those things.

Mìcheal: Em, my name is Mìcheal, and I work at Foghlam Fad Beatha (Lifelong Learning), the, the distance learning part of Foghlam Fad Beatha, at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig. And I’ve been here – well I was a student in 2004, and now I’ve been here since a little over a year now, since I got married last year and my wife did the first year course here, and now I’m, I’m full-time working in the office as well as doing one module, one second year module at the college. And, em, yeah, I enjoy being here. I enjoy working with students who want to learn Gaelic, who are trying to get onto Gaelic courses, and helping them with the administrative side of that. And, em, it’s, it’s a nice place, where Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is. It’s quite remote, but it’s a beautiful place, great views, ever changing views, with the weather. And it’s a bit on the wet side though. There is a lot of rain, and the meanbh-chuileagan, or the midges – they are quite unpleasant when they’re out as well, although we haven’t had many this year.

Alex: Uh, I think it’s a beautiful place. Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is a very beautiful place, and the Isle of Skye is also, amazing place to live. But unfortunately I don’t think there’s a lot of things to do in here for young people, unless you can drive.

Mìcheal: The distance learning students that we have, some of them are from far afield – the States and Australia etcetera, as well as many who are closer, and it’s, it’s good that they’ve got an opportunity to learn the Gaelic because a lot of people aren’t in the position to come here full-time between work or family or whatever the reason. Em, but I do think the full-time courses are better because you’re, you’re fully immersed in the learning environment as well as the language. So if students are able to come here I, I would suggest that is better.

Alex: I’m working as an administrator for short courses. Um, I speak with the people over the phone who want to do short course in Gaelic, music, song. I do like my job because you never know what’s going to turn up next.

Kathleen: Well in the summer I was teaching, um, short courses here, but over the past year I was teaching distance courses over the phone for the college. Um, and it was an interesting experience because I was told, or I’ve been asked how can you do that? How can you teach people over the phone? And I’m quite comfortable and used to being in front of a class, um, and I’ve done that for several years, but it was the first time where I had the experience of having classes that you weren’t seeing, you weren’t in front of them. Um, and it was a little bit strange at first, but it does work and it’s, it’s a great opportunity for people, uh, living in, in Scotland or in England, or in, in Europe or America or wherever to have the chance to learn Gaelic without necessarily coming into a classroom, that maybe they don’t have that opportunity. Um, and it does work, they do learn and they do progress with the language.