By Clodagh Murray - 4 minute readIrish is a subject some students can fear and hesitate with and when it comes to the CBA you mightn't know where to start. However, there's no reason to feel like these CBAs are beyond your ability! Rachel, an experienced Irish teacher, has created our Irish Junior Cycle CBA guide to help conquer your Irish CBAs! Check out a select few of her tips and explanations from her guide below!
This CBA demonstrates your written Irish ability. For this CBA you must choose three pieces of work from your portfolio that demonstrate your Irish ability. These pieces of work can range from a written piece of work, a presentation you have done, a poster you've made or something based on your studied works in Irish.
This CBA gives you the opportunity to showcase your spoken Irish skills. This CBA will be a three minute oral piece of work. It could be an interview, roleplay, drama extract, presentation or conversation. To get the most out of this CBA you should really try to pick a format and topic that interests you as passion and interest will stand out.
This is the final part of your Junior Cycle Irish Classroom-Based Assessment. Whilst CBA1 and CBA2 will receive a comment on the features of quality from your teacher, the assessment task is marked through the State Exams Commission and is worth 10% of your overall JC Irish exam. This will be a written task completed in class where you will firstly examine material and secondly complete an answer book as Gaeilge.
Your language portfolio, punann teanga, is a great opportunity to show off all your hard work throughout the junior cycle. Firstly, consider pieces from second and third year as your work was probably stronger then as your Irish developed. Secondly, one piece must be a video or voice recording and another must be based on literature you've studied such as a poem or story. When deciding which pieces to go with, ask yourself: What pieces do I like? Which ones am I proud of? Which ones illustrate my development in Irish? Does the work I've chosen vary in style?
When you're completing work regularly over the Junior Cycle, it would be a good idea to take notes of this work as well as some reflective points on this work. Having these records of work in detail as well as some points for reflection will make CBA1 infinitely easier when you get to it in 3rd year!
When deciding which topic to base your oral CBA2 task on, ask yourself the following questions:
How will I engage and interest my audience, e.g. my teacher as well as classmates?
Does this topic interest me?
Can I present what I want and need to within the time limit of this oral task?
In order to get the most out of CBA2 you should get involved with Irish both inside and outside the classroom well before CBA2 even comes along! Communicating through Irish regularly will help develop and improve your language skills such as sentence structure, pronunciation and speaking skills. If you actively engage in Irish throughout the three years, when CBA2 comes around, trust us that speaking in Irish won't feel half as intimidating or daunting if it's second nature to you already!
When you present your communication task to your class, after speaking for 3/4 minutes alone or as part of a greater group presentation, you will have to answer three questions from your teacher based on your presentation's topic. It would be a good idea to brainstorm what questions the teacher might ask before you complete this task so you are as prepared as possible! Preparation is key to success!
We hope this information and these tips help you navigate your Irish CBAs! To read Rachel's full CBA Irish guide, click below.
If you're looking for help with your Irish exam, check out our 'How to get a Distinction in Junior Cycle Irish' guide here.
