Can WordBricks Make Learning Irish More Engaging for Students?

Abstract

Learning a language is challenging and it is important that learners be kept motivated throughout the process. Many Irish primary school children are not particularly motivated to learn the language and there are few computer assisted language learning (CALL) resources available to them. WordBricks is an app that enables learners to construct only grammatically correct sentences. It leverages a visual learning paradigm and has a Scratch-like interface. It was originally developed for English, and more recently has been expanded to cater for Irish. This article investigates if using Irish WordBricks is both suitable and usable for primary school learners, if it is pedagogically appropriate for them and if it is enjoyable for them. The WordBricks app was tested by five classes of two different age groups in a typical school in Ireland. This article reports on the results of the WordBricks deployment and the feedback of students and teachers.