Blog na Gaeilge » education http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog News of the Irish language. Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:12:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2 New BábógBaby teddy bear speaks Irish http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog/content/182 http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog/content/182#comments Sun, 26 Sep 2010 20:12:01 +0000 Eoin http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog/?p=182 Back in 2007, Adrian Devane was on the lookout for Irish language toys. He had a little daughter, and wanted to learn Irish. However, he didn’t find many options, so he started to think how to create his own toy. BábógBaby was born.

BábógBaby teddy bear.

Here’s an interview with Adrian about this new toy. The toy teaches 33 words in relation to numbers, colours and shapes, by pressing on different parts of the teddy bear.

(Eoin:) BábógBaby is your creation, what is it?
(Adrian:) BábógBaby (BB) was set up to make educational tools for babies, toddlers and children. BB is the company’s first product.

What’s your connection with the Irish language?
I live in the Gaeltacht here in Moycullen, Co. Galway with my wife Karen and our 4 year old daughter Robyn. We try to speak as much Irish as we can.

What did you do before this venture?
I worked for 12 years in Film and TV production mostly on feature films in the production department.

Who in Ireland are you targetting? Is the “general” population open to this idea?
We are targeting parents, who want to give their children a good chance to learn some early cúpla focal. It makes a great alternative present for uncles, aunties and Grandparents.

Do you find that perception of the Irish language has changed in anyway in Ireland?
Yes, Irish is now kewl. It’s popular and used alot more in recent years.

Are you getting interest from outside of Ireland? Do you foresee it to be an important part?
We have had some interest from Europe and the US. The biggest market will be the Irish market for our Irish version. Our recent award in the UK opens up the market for and English version.

What was the most difficult part of getting this far with BábógBaby?
Deciding on the design and packaging on time to have it here for Christmas 2010 has been tough. But we got here.

After Christmas 2010, how do you intend on furthering the reach of this concept?
We have interest from toy distributors abroad who will get it out into the Irish shops around the world. We will continue marketing our website and brand for online sales worldwide.

For people in Ireland, and elsewhere, interested in buying BábógBaby, what should they do?
They should go to our BUY NOW website www.babogbaby.com and buy it online, and we will get it out within 1-3 days.

]]> http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog/content/182/feed 3 Gaelscoileanna: must teach 30 minutes of English per day http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog/content/12 http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog/content/12#comments Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:42:21 +0000 Eoin http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/blog/content/12 Until now, at least some Gaelscoileanna (primay schools that teach through the medium of Irish) have adopted a “total immersion” approach. Students are not taught any English for the first two years of school.

They argue that this lies in with international best practice for teaching a language.

Mary Hanafin, the Minister for Education, has now said that all children must be taught 30 minutes of English a day from the second half of their first year of school onwards.

Source: RTÉ

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