Here's the thing, the English version of Ed Sheeran's song "Thinking Out Loud" has 926,011,158 views ( as of 12:10 Mountain time Jan 13, 2016). That is a lot of views. I would guess that means that lots of people like the song and probably Ed Sheeran himself. So it is a big deal when someone like him, who is successful in the dominant culture takes the time not just to approve a minority language cover but to sing it himself. For one thing it may well help many people find out about the Irish language and it will certainly help many people to see Irish as a worth while language. After all Ed has 14,091,891 likes on Facebook where as we here at Daily Gaelic are working our way up to 4,000  so he has a bit of a bigger reach. 
    I'm not in any way saying that traditional music or any other part of Gaelic culture isn't a valid thing to preserve and treasure or that these things aren't good ways for people to get interested in the language. Some people however will never come into contact with these things and/or they may just not be interested in them. But some of those people might be Ed Sheeran fans and may become interested in learning Irish Gaelic because of the song. 
    Along similar but different lines not everyone who speaks or is learning Irish is going to be really into traditional music at least not all the time. I have to admit to having days where all I want to listen to is pop music. Things like Ed Sheeran singing his hit song in Irish and all the great covers and original songs that TG Lurgan and Seo linn have done means I can listen to Irish language pop. From looking at some of the comments on the web it seems like these pop songs are really popular with younger Irish learners. 
Honestly I am very jealous that we don't have more of this Scottish Gaelic. And ideally it wouldn't just be pop music. I'd love to see people using Irish and Scottish Gaelic to express themselves in every genre of music. 

When learning any new language, there can be some frustration when you try to listen to and understand native speakers. There are a few reasons for this.
The first and biggest reason is lazy pronunciation and slang. Native speakers of a language tend to be much less precise in the way they say and even use words often without noticing that they are doing it.
Have a look at this video of a British man talking about just this with his dialect of English.  

This happens with Gaelic too. Just think of all the times 'agus' is reduced to 's. 

This also brings us to the second main reason words may not sound they way you learned them: regional dialects. Gaelic has lots of them. Some times they say the same word differently from the way you learned, sometimes they may even use a different word. 

Here is a great set of maps to help show some of these dialectical differences

Scottish Gaelic Dialect Survey

Another good way of getting a handle on dialect differences is to hear them. Listen to BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal, look at some of the videos on e-Stòras  and Guthan nan Eilean check out some you tube videos ( try putting Nova Scotia Gaelic in the search box) and keep looking around on-line as there is new stuff all the time.  

1. Take time to study everyday. 
It doesn't have to be a long time, 10-15 mins a day is enough to make a real difference. It is often more effective to study a little bit everyday than to spend a long time studying only once a week.   

3. ambush studying:
Ambush studying is where you make learning part of your everyday life. For example, make yourself some bookmarks with the phrase "Tha mi a' leughadh." (I am reading) on them. Put them in the books you are reading, Label the food in your cupboards with their Gaelic names. Label the drawers in your dresser with which type of clothing is them. Put sticky notes with phrases around your house. "Nigh do làmhan" (wash your hands) next to the soap, "Oidhche mhath" (good night) on your bedside lamp.  In this way you see and use Gaelic all the time without having to make special time to study.   

Check out Gaily Gaelic's classes here

Thòisich mi mo thuras anns a’ Gàidhlig…

I began my journey into Gaelic in the early 1980s with the Roderick Mackinnon Teach Yourself  Gaelic book. I struggled through to the end of Lesson 3 and realized that with the exception of a single song badly recorded on a cassette tape, I had never heard the language and was probably saying everything wrong. This was discouraging enough, but shortly thereafter, life threw me a series of giant curveballs and I had to return to university with two small children to complete my degree in art education. Four years later, degree in hand, I moved to Oregon from Montana, started life over again, and Gaelic was again relegated to the back burner. Fast-forward some 30-plus years, and I’m starting over, this time with far more resources than previously available. As an older learner (I am fast accelerating toward the age of 61), I’m faced with diminished memory and ability to focus. I also live in a place far enough away from everything that it’s a major and costly production going to classes in Seattle, or even Portland.
Thankfully, there’s Skype and You-Tube, and Facebook friends who regularly post videos and lessons to remind me to study and to practice. I am so grateful for having Caroline Root as a teacher on Skype, although I had to drag myself kicking and screaming into the 21st century to get it on my computer. Still, even with all the technology available, I’m not yet willing to download podcasts and carry sound around with me. If I can’t get it on regular radio, I’m reluctant to listen because I can’t justify spending even more time at my computer than I already do. 
So, I know a few words now, and can get a skeletal gist of what’s being said, but I’m still translating into Beurla, and I still struggle to understand the structure of the language itself, not to mention the idiomatic qualities that sail right over my head. The process is agonizingly slow for me and my ossified brain. I deeply regret not keeping up with it at an earlier age. I am, however, determined to continue along my journey through this immensely beautiful language and it’s rich cultural heritage. It deserves to be spoken. 
{I recently attended two Language Hunters classes—all Gaelic with ASL (American Sign Language). Everyone repeats everything in unison, which gives people a lot more oral practice while still covering everything required in the curriculum. Short of immersion, the two sessions I attended were excellent practice for me and did much to reinforce some of what I’d forgotten or thought I already knew.} 

Anyway…sin agad e. 

Gayle

Taylor: 
'Learning another language has never been more enjoyable. Caroline is not only an instructor, but a mentor, savant, Gaelic-geek, and good friend, one whom I could not fully internalize Gaelic's complexities without. The language itself has considable disparities as compared to most European stock languages, especially its intonations and mutations, and in that sense, Gaelic requires a direct and easy approach. Caroline excels there. She gradually assimilates grammar, phonetics, numbers, and days of the week with vocabulary and idiom so that each is learnt holistically, rather than statically. Likewise, she sets the language in context, historically and currently. Like all languages, Gaelic has abstract properties and mannerisms and conducts which Caroline reifies with fluency. Above all, for those lurching along difficulties, Caroline accommodates the individual, not her own curriculum. She insists that one learn as much as one is taught, and I am endlessly gracious for her instruction. Please try Gaelic with Caroline. Save a language. Save a culture.'

I asked my Gaelic students if they would share their experiences learning the language. Here is the first of several responses I got: 

The aim of Daily Gaelic is to help people learn to speak and learn about Gaelic. I am delighted to say that there has been so much interest that I have asked a my good friend and fellow Gaelic teacher to join me here at Daily Gaelic. 
Please give a very warm welcome to Cam  who will be teaching here at Daily Gaelic. This spring she will be teaching a wonderful class called Scotland: Past and Present. This course will present an overview of the geography, history, and culture of Scotland and is a great addition to learning Gaelic language. 

Here is Cam telling us a little about herself and how she got involved with Gaelic:
:
"I've been teaching for most of my adult life, in museums, in living history settings, in traditional classrooms, and lately, on Skype too.
I got interested in learning Gaelic about twenty years ago when I was involved with Norman Kennedy’s Marshfield School of Weaving in Vermont. We used to have waulkings every once in a while but all we sang were English songs. Then one day I found a copy of volume 2 of Campbell and Collinson’s Hebridean Folksongsin a used book store and decided to learn Gaelic. I’ve been studying Gaelic ever since, in the U.S., in Canada, and in Scotland. I’m a long-time member of ACGA, the Scottish Gaelic Society of North America and have served at various times on the Board of Directors and on several committees. For the past four years I’ve been one of the editors of the society's bilingual quarterly newsletter, "An Naidheachd Againne,” and recently I’ve been hosting a Gaelic music program on ACGA’s Gaelic radio broadcast, Rèidio Guth nan Gàidheal.