Frequently asked questions

If you have any questions or are having difficulties, we are here to help. We can guide you over the phone or set you up with a tutor for free!

• Call us on Freephone: 1 800 20 20 80
• Email us: learn@nala.ie

We have designed our online platform specifically for adult learners and you are free to use it whatever way you wish.

• You can learn on your own and know that we are there to help if you need it.
• You can learn through your local centre with support from your tutor / personal assistant or carer.
• You can learn with support from a NALA tutor over the phone.
• You can use it to quickly get qualification for what you already know through our Recognition of Prior Learning feature.

To start any of our free and easy-to-use online courses you need to create an account by registering with us. Then search our courses and choose the one that suits you, click the Register now button and start learning today!

Watch this short video to learn how to register

Please make sure you meet the below entry requirements before signing up to a course:

• You are 16 or over.
• For all courses, you should be able to:
  • Use a desktop computer / tablet / laptop on your own.
  • Get on the internet and navigate to a website on your own.
  • Log in to a website on your own.
• For Level 1 courses, there are no further entry requirements.
• For Level 2 courses, you should have a Level 1 Certificate or equivalent qualifications and/or relevant life skills and work experience.
• For Preparing for Level 3 courses, you should have a Level 2 Certificate or equivalent qualifications and/or relevant life skills and work experience.
• For Level 3 courses, you should have a Level 2 Certificate or equivalent qualifications and/or relevant life skills and work experience.
• For professional development courses, you should have completed your Leaving Certificate/ a Level 5 Certificate or equivalent or have relevant life skills and work experience.

Watch this video to learn how to get started after you have registered for a course.

If you want to sign up for more courses, simply:

• Go back to our main website: learnwithnala.ie.
• Click ‘Register’ for the course you want to sign up for.

Watch this video on how to sign up for more courses

To use Learn with NALA, you can use a:

• Desktop computer
• Laptop
• Tablet
• Smartphone

You should use the latest version of your browser for best performance. Find out more information about what devices and browsers work best with Learn with NALA.

There is a text-to-speech tool from ReadSpeaker available on all Learn with NALA website pages on the top left of the screen. There are subtitles available on all videos on our website.

When you log in to our Learning Management System (LMS) and start on your course, there is a text-to-speech purple icon next to all the text on your course. There are subtitles available on all videos on our LMS.

Text-to-speech is not yet available in other areas on the LMS. For example, on the login screen, on the home page, in the help section, when submitting portfolio work and when completing surveys.

Watch this video to learn about the activities on Learn with NALA.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) means if you can show you already have knowledge or skills in a subject area, you don’t have to complete the full course to get an award. Just click on ‘What do I already know’.

The ‘What do I already know’ section on each level 2 and level 3 course checks what you already know in the subject. It allows you to skip parts of the course if you already have the skills and knowledge.

You will have to complete a number of tasks. If you get them all correct, you show that you already have the skills and knowledge needed to complete this course. Then you can skip parts of the course and go straight to the ‘End Test’.

Watch this video to learn how to use Recognition of Prior Learning

All of our level 2 and 3 courses are accredited by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), the national qualifications awarding body in Ireland.

You have the option of getting a Quality and Qualifications Ireland award in all of our level 2 and level 3 courses. You can get an award for your learning on these courses in one of two ways:

• Complete all of the course content and get all of the questions in the 'End test' correct.
• Skip some or all of the course content by getting questions correct in the 'What do I already know' section and get all of the questions correct in the 'End test'.

For some courses, there will also be portfolio work to complete. Our tutors will review your submissions and get back to you with feedback.

NALA will put your work forward for a QQI award. QQI awards are handed out twice a year in the spring and autumn.

For our QQI accredited courses, if you achieve one or more Minor Awards you can to transfer to other courses at that level on the National Framework of Qualifications. This is subject to the requirements of the other awards.

For example, if you get a QQI Minor Award in level 2 Computer Skills on Learn with NALA, this means you can transfer to another course at level 2 on Learn with NALA or with another local provider near you.

For information on other providers near you, see Further Education Training Course Hub which lists free further education courses in Ireland funded by SOLAS.

For our QQI accredited courses, if you achieve a Major Award you can progress onto other courses at the next level on the National Framework of Qualifications subject to the requirements of the other awards.

For example, if you get a QQI Major Award in level 2 General Learning on Learn with NALA, this means you can progress onto one of Learn with NALA’s level 3 courses, Level 3 General Learning, Level 3 Employability Skills or Level 3 Information and Communication Technologies, or to a level 3 course with another local provider near you.

For information on other providers near you, see Further Education Training Course Hub which lists free further education courses in Ireland funded by SOLAS.

NALA has delivered courses accredited by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) since 2010. All our level 2 and 3 courses lead to QQI awards. See our QQI awards data dashboard for an overview of awards achieved by learners through NALA since 2010.

Level 1, preparing for level 3 and professional development courses are not QQI accredited but do lead to NALA Certificates of Completion.

NALA’s Quality Assurance policies and procedures underpin all our of courses.

If you wish to register for any of our adult literacy, numeracy or digital literacy courses, you will need to create a learner account.

To do this you will need to log out, go to online courses and create a learner account using the learner registration form on our Online courses page.

If you need any help, please email learn@nala.ie.

Academic integrity means being honest and fair in the work that you do on Learn with NALA. The whole Learn with NALA community is responsible for upholding academic integrity. Any work that you do on the Learn with NALA platform must be your own work, not work that someone else has done, or that someone has done for you. This includes all assessment work in the ‘What do I already know?’ and ‘End Test’ sections as well as portfolio submissions.

If you find some course work difficult, it is your responsibility to let us know. We are happy to help, but that help must be used to do your own work. You can find out more about academic integrity in this useful academic integrity guide from Education and Training Boards Ireland (ETBI).

You can learn from home by signing up for 10 weeks of one-to-one, over the phone tutoring with a NALA Tutor. We will call once a week for up to 30 minutes. We can help you improve your reading, writing, maths and computer skills for everyday life and work.

You can sign up to our Tutoring Service if you:

• are aged over 18;
• are based in the Republic of Ireland;
• have literacy needs in your native language;
• can have a conversation in English;
• can follow basic verbal instructions;
• are unable to take up a local learning opportunity, for example, in an Education and Training Board;
• are unable to learn independently online, for example, on learnwithnala.ie;
• can make and accept calls on a phone; and
• can receive follow up materials by post or email.

Spaces in our tutoring service are limited and may fill up. If our tutors are fully booked, we will add you to the waiting list.