AutoMagic Welsh is here!

Welsh General / Questions
#1

Just click on ‘Learn’ and then ‘Learn’ again with the dropdown arrow once you’re on the main site (we’ve got to tidy up that flow a little)… and at the bottom of the dropdown list, you’ll see AutoMagic Beta.

Can’t believe I’ve just typed that!

Now for the caveats.

First up, ‘beta’ means ‘expect things to explode’. This shouldn’t involve actual flames (I hope). If you go into settings, you can play around with switching video on and off - that’s probably the most likely route to actual flames at the moment, but it’s also kind of fun.

Second, intermediate learners will need to be a little patient - if you switch the settings up to Fire Rocket Dragon, it won’t be all that long before you get through to some deeper waters, but we’re still talking about two or three hours - we’re working on something to make it easier/faster for intermediates to get to where it’s challenging for them, but it’s not an overnight fix.

Having said those two things, we’ve got over 1000 people using AutoMagic while on a Mynediad course, and I’ve used it face-to-face for this season of Iaith ar Daith, and the results are extremely encouraging. I’ve seen Iaith ar Daith learners struggle with the old static files and then blossom as soon as they got into AutoMagic, and I think a far higher percentage of our learners are going to achieve success with AutoMagic. :heart:

Which leaves one final thing to say - please, please, let us know what you think of it, how you find it, what works, what explodes - ideally, in this thread. We’re working very hard to make it more robust and to keep improving it - a more effective ‘get to intermediate’ tool is on the way, as are karate-belt-like grading levels - and every single piece of feedback is likely to give us new ideas - so every piece of feedback you give us is helping to build a better AutoMagic Tutor :smiley: :heart:

I’m looking forward with nervous terror and excitement at hearing what you think of it! :slight_smile:

And here’s our first intro video:

https://youtube.com/shorts/p5at_45rVGI

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AutoMagic launches next month - taster screenshot
I am so confused
#2

It’s very good to see this being released @aran – llongyfarchiadau i chi i gyd!

I’ve done the first 30 minutes or so, but really, before commenting in detail I could do with knowing a few basic details about what’s supposed to be happening. So far as I can see, the difference between this and the new course is:

  1. you’ve reworked the content to reflect the lessons from the previous courses

  2. you’re allowing users some control over the speed of learning the content via the ‘how I’m feeling button’. (This is the ‘Automagic’ bit.) Are you also varying the time allowed to answer?

  3. the learner can see the written English and Welsh responses.

  4. you can optionally see a simultaneous video of the words being spoken by the tutors.

Have I got that right? If so, they all seem like very welcome improvements on what are already excellent courses, but it would be good to have these assumptions clear in the app itself.

The one change I’m not sure about is that there seems to be one continuous lesson, with no indication that the course is split into individual lessons. Nor is there a method of navigating within the lesson, say to go back to something I find difficult. Am I just not looking in the right place?

So, the initial basic feedback is that I think it would be helpful to have a prominent message somewhere on the home page explaining in a little detail how the course works: e.g. that a) there’s no navigation because…, b) choosing a ‘feeling’ level is the way the content is ‘automagically’ adapted to your learning speed… c) that you should use the videos if you want to… and so on.

[I don’t think your initial video covers this (in any case, the explanations need to be in text form as well), but I can’t go back to check because there doesn’t seem to be a ‘Home Page’ I can return to.]

That way the learner isn’t spending time trying to find the rewind button and/or worrying that they’ll never remember X because it’s all too fast…

Apart from that request, I think there are some really nice improvements to already excellent courses. I’ll post any problems/comments if I come across them.

Many thanks to the team!

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#3

I’m guessing that the reason there isn’t a rewind button is that it isn’t really split into discrete lessons any more, but instead uses an algorithm based on the difficulty level to determine when to repeat things? If so, then then a lack of a rewind is unfortunately inevitable, but on the bright side if someone is feeling a little lost, they can reduce the difficulty level so that stuff gets repeated more regularly. If not, then a means to go back a little or to indicate that you’re struggling with specific things would be useful.

I do miss Iestyn’s dulcet tones though, going through the Southern course to test things out.

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#4

Really valuable responses in here already, diolch yn fawr! I’ll answer in a bit more detail when I get a chance, but for now just wanted to say that we have a first attempt at an explainer video up on YouTube:

https://youtube.com/shorts/p5at_45rVGI

:slightly_smiling_face:

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#5

S’mae Aran
Llongyfarchiadau, I’m sure that its with a huge amount of excitement and nerves at the launch of AutoMagic. Just had a quick look over it. Initially it looks impressive. Slightly different/ new experience for me as i have been learning for two years, as it will be for new learners. Can i ask a question regarding the different speed modes, beginner, dragon etc…this doesn’t seem to speed up the conversation at all. So my question is, is it designed to speed up the voices/ conversation or the difficulty levels or both?
Diolch Aran a pob lwc :+1:

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#6

Hi @aran sorry if sound stupid but I can’t find it. According to Google automatic has been discontinued as an app for android and I’ve looked online for it but no success. Where would I find it please?

Diolch

Diane

#7

Hi,

I have used the old style courses, and the 5 minute one and I think Auto Magic is my favourite so far. The main reason is having the English and Welsh on screen while listening. Having the English helps me remember what I have been asked to say especially with longer sentences so I can concentrate on speaking Cymraeg. Having the Cymraeg on screen helps me associate words with the sounds I am making. Being able to adjust the speed is also a big plus, especially if I am having a bad brain day. Really enjoying Auto Magic.

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#8

Some questions as I am going through. Since there are no separate audio files, chapters, or rewind button, how do we go back over past content? Listen to the SSiW challenges instead? Is the content the same?

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#9

The “Feeling” gauge adjusts the number of sentences with familiar material you get before new material is introduced, so it’s the speed that you work through the material rather than anything to do with the way it’s spoken.

So if someone is finding it hard to remember what they’re learning, they can move the gauge to the left, and they will get more practice at what has already been presented before new material is introduced, and vice versa going to the right.

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#10

If you click on ‘Learn’ up at the top, then ‘Learn’ again when you get to the main page, you’ll see a link to it there.

Or you can go to https://automagic.saysomethingin.com/ and find it there.

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#11

I have watched the explanatory video about Automagic but have a few questions.
Firstly, is it the same course except the words are shown on screen?
Secondly, how far does the course go or is it just at Mynediad level?
And thirdly, in the very first level 1 course, Aran says that the word for want is Moyn, however, in the explanatory video, he says the word for want is eisau. I know both are used but this could confuse new starters.
Thanks for any replies.

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#12

S’mae Deborah
That’s fine diolch yn fawr :+1:
Alan

#13

Diolch Deborah :blush::+1:t3:

#14

Very cool! I like how Aran speeds up a bit as you move up towards fire breathing dragon level, I’m wondering if this is just my now ancient Galaxy 6 or the Betaness, basically if you hit pause and leav eit for more than a few seconds it doesn’t re-start?
I feel old now having done the old courses and forgotten how hard this all was when I started with SSiW! A great development. One of the issues I had was not having anything to look at whilst doing SSiW, so really helpful in improving the interactivity.

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#15

I spent a few minutes with it so far. My schedule has gotten so hectic, I haven’t done any lessons in some years. I like the no discrete lesson format. Just start and stop when you want.

I also like the text option. With longer sentences, I could never remember what I was supposed to say. I am going to try and stick with it but we’ll see. Having a disabled person at home makes it tough.

I also like the new southern voices. It’s familiar, yet fresh. :+1:

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#16

I thought that I’d give Automagic a try out of curiosity, but it doesn’t recognise my password (or maybe e-mail). I can log into the Forum and the Challenges with no problem and my subscription is up to date. Does Automagic not work for really ancient low subscriptions? Does it not work on a PC?
I am not too worried since I finished Level 3 some time ago and I can always go back to revise.
Sue

#17

Hi I’m using beta and enjoying it. At first I didn’t until I realised that you can make it quicker. I think it is good that you can’t go back to revise. Keeps your brain more engaged. Constantly going on about neurones does grate a bit. Also going on about making mistakes. I’m quite happy to make mistakes. That’s how you learn. I see where your going with this. But I feel you could have started with a more interesting topic . Like shopping. You could still use more multiple angles . Using it with dyscu cumraeg and Duolingo I think makes a good mix. Must say the welsh spoken by the young lady does sound quite different to yourself. I’m doing it for pronunciation. So I am a bit confused which one to aim for. Hope this helps

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#18

I think it’s really great that SSiW confronts the learner with slightly different pronunciations, because it reflects what happens in real life when talking with people, and that way the brain gets wired to accept some variation in the speech patterns it expects.

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#19

I’m not sure how I’m supposed to access it, but opening the link Deborah gave upthread in a browser worked: it asks me to log in and it recognises my usual details. FWIW I have a ‘polyglot’ plan going at a grandfathered rate.

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#20

@RobMorgan It’s basically the same material, but while the standard course just presents everyone with the same set of sentences, AutoMagic allows people to choose whether they want to have more repetitions of material before moving to something new, so there are more variations of sentences.
It will eventually cover all the course material of Levels 1, 2 and 3 but for the moment only Level 1 is available. The others are still in production.
Good point about moyn and isio which I’ve passed onto the team - diolch yn fawr :slight_smile:

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