How many students of Irish would agree with the poet Thomas Kinsella, when he said: "Yet to come on 18thcentury Irish poetry after the dullness of the 19th century is to find a world suddenly full of life and voices, the voices of poets who expect to be heard and understood and memorised. Beyond them is. . . the course of Irish poetry stretching back for more than a thousand years, full of riches and variety."

So how was it for you? Were you receptive to the voices of Peadar O Doirnin and Maire Bhui Ni Laoire? Were you open to the haunting melody of Brid Og Ni Mhaille and Urchnoc Chein Mhic Chainte - love songs all. Love songs full of intensity and the grief of unrequited love.

"A Bhrid Og Ni Mhaille, 's tu d'fhag mo chroi craite,

????????????'s chuir tu arraingeacha bais tri cheartlar mo chroi."

Sisterly love too in Donncha Ban who was unjustly hanged for horse stealing,

"Mo bhrollach oscailte is mo cheann liom scaoilte, is ca bhfaighinn mo dhearthairin romham ach sinte.'

Perhaps there wasn't time to enjoy the music. The Irish course is broad based and time consuming. Students justly complain about analysis/paralysis, while teachers are aware that in focusing exclusively on the exam they are in danger of sucking the lifeblood from the language. Some students contend, particularly at ordinary level, that the texts are too difficult, too remote. Yet teachers know that the hardest text of all to unravel is disinterest. As for being remote, does literature not aim to encourage students to engage with minds and worlds beyond their own experience, unfettered by notions of time or place? So while Maire Bhui Ni Laoire's political song Cath Cheim an Fhia - evocative of death and reprisal - brings students back to the early days of the 19th century, I am reminded of the laconic observation of Professor Declan Kiberd: "Gaelic Ireland was never afraid of death, but like Woody Allen it `just didn't want to be there when it happened'."

But all is not in the past. The syllabus also includes modern writers, many living. The late poet Sean O Riordain, absent from the prescribed course this year, has remained a favourite of my students over the years.

The poet W B Yeats believed that the Irish language held the key not only to the West, but to the lost imagination of the whole nation. Yeats regretted throughout his life that his poor language skills caused his repeated attempts to learn Irish to come to nothing. He depended on translations of old Irish literature. His attempts to learn French also failed.

The recent EU survey confirming that 50 per cent of the population cannot speak a second language would have been a comfort to him, but he would disagree as to why - many do not see any reason to do so. The survey is hardly a vindication of language teaching and learning in the educational system, but it would be short-sighted to blame the schools alone.

The poet Austin Clarke remarked in 1941 that "Irish had become fatally associated with the purgatorial fires of the classroom, the terrors of the irregular verb, and the distortions of ingrown virginity."

We have moved on since then as regards overhauling the curriculum, but the almost absolute absence of any functional context for Irish once the Leaving is over remains a constraint. It demotivates students - apart from those totally dedicated - and deters learning.

In this context a recent Irish Times report that the National Council of Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) is to carry out a major review of Irish at post-primary level is very welcome. We will hopefully find out why, in the words of the former Minister for Education and Science, Micheal Martin, "some students have lost the language and the language has lost them".

However teachers and students have an exam to tend to in the meantime. This much we do know. Irish exams have been positively student-friendly over the last few years. There have been no nasty surprises, so it is unlikely there will be any this year. There is an awareness that for many it is the last formal encounter with Irish.

In the detailed outline of the Irish exam which follows here, every section and direction on the papers are covered. Each question type is addressed and advice is offered on allocation of time. There is a model poetry answer for both ordinary and higher level. Begin Paper 1 with Leamhthuiscint. It provides instant immersion in the language. In the Ceapadoireacht, section B invites you to write a story. A, C and D are discursive. If you like debating and discussing issues, this is the type for you. Plan your approach. In your plan decide content and list the points/arguments you are going to present.

Paper 2 in ordinary and higher level has become very cluttered this year due to the broad range of choices now available, both within questions and between the prescribed course and optional course. So it is advisable to familiarise yourself with the format of the exam paper, so as not to waste valuable time during the exam. Be clear in your mind beforehand whether you will answer Roinn A Cursa Ainmnithe or Roinn B Cursa Roghnach. Begin Paper 2 higher level by answering question four, Stair na Gaelige. It is a straightforward factual question. Leave a blank space after each question -this allows you the opportunity to add further information when checking over your answers. Never be intimidated by the amount another person has written beside you. Have confidence in yourself.

Nil am agat faoi lathair d'anail a tharraingt ni airim breis leitheoireachta a dheanamh. . . Ach ta seoid de leabhar tar eis teacht ar an margadh a thaispeanann chomh faiscthe is ata an Ghaelige i mBearla na hEireann, on nudainadai (a listless, indecisive person) go dti an tucalai (a fumbler). Nil tusa mar sin! Ach an bhfuil aithne agat ar aon stomaire? (an idle lump of a fella) Beidh tu in ann na focla a usaid i do aiste. Tabhair faoi deara go bhfuil siad ar fad maslach! Bi curamach ce air a nglaofaidh tu iad! Ainm an leabhair A Dictionary of Anglo-Irish le Diarmuid O Muirithe.

Ta neart treoracha maidir leis an mbealach is fearr le tabhairt faoin scrudu sa bpaipear inniu. Ta suil agam gur cabhair e. Idir an da linn tabhair aire dhuit fhein. Oibrigh i searsai 40 noimead. . . ansin tog sos gairid 5 no 10 noimead roimh an gcead searsa eile. . . seachas a bheith ag obair uaireanta fada as a cheile. Beidh do chuid foghlama nios eifeachtai.

Eireoidh tu maidin bhrea eicint agus beidh se ar fad thart le cunamh De. Ach na scaoil uait an teanga theis ar chuir tu de dhua ort fein a foghlaim. Ta daoine a thabharfadh a gcuid clarfhiacla ach i a bheith acu. Adh mor.

Treasa Ni Chonaola is a teacher and former president of Comhar na Muinteoiri Gaeilge.