Yes, also, all our informants are those who were pretty young at the time! I know how quickly I picked up enough German to get by, no doubt with sign language and English as well, when we were at the POW Camp. I wasn’t really aware which was German, just that I talked this way to, say Alfred, and that way to my Mam!! Kids may well have actually helped their parents chat to the Bretons without realising it!!
1 Like
Well amazing. Last night i revisted level 2 lesson 25 and course 3 lessons 24 and 25. Going backwards? Maybe not. Even the dreaded last lesson of course 3 was better. 
2 Likes
I’ve been reading more stuff in Welsh now. I held off for a few months until I’d completed level 2. I’m quite happy with my pronunciation (although there are always tongue twisters in every language), so I felt I could start to push forward. It’s helped my vocabulary loads! What I have found is that it’s worth investing sometime in learning short forms of verbs. Most of what I have read uses them a lot. A first they can throw you and it can be frustrating (as all encounters of new things can be). However, it’s worth the pain. It’s built my knowledge of different verbs which would have taken a long time to grasp just speaking the language. It’s also helped me understand more on the telly and the radio.
I still find I’m slow on these (Dal Ati is fine now because it’s aimed at learners). I try to push forwards with speaking to first language speakers and I avoid learner events. Learners are wonderful, well intending people. However, speaking to “pobl go iawn” is more challenging and, therefore, has a greater risk-reward result.
So, my advice, although the wlpan courses are slow. They do help in this area. So sometimes, building vocab can be helped by traditional courses. If you’re going to do it, push yourself and aim for the highest level. If you think you’d be comfortable on a sylfaen course, join a canolradd. If it’s canolradd, get yourself on an uwch.
I started learning Welsh August 2015, I joined a sylfaen course in September. This year I’ve jumped to uwch. My experience with SSiW has more than prepared me for it. As a class we pretty much stay in Welsh the entire 4 hours a week. With small bits f saesneg for clarity.
2 Likes
Totally agree. I’m doing a mix of canolradd and uwch by myself with help from memrise and other apps. I revisit SSIW every week too and constantly have radio cymru on in the car.
This week i watched the rugby on S4C. I do silly things like translate songs into welsh.
I try to get to saith seren. I post stuff in welsh etc.
All in all its definitely improving
2 Likes
It’s one of those things isn’t it that we all want to do quickly but forcing it doesn’t seem to work. it takes time and it’s one of those things that is never endinh, just as in English. It can take a year or two for some words and phtases to stick and othera can be instantaneous. I guess that’s just how it is.
Learning lists is like learning a sequence of numbers to me. I could do that, but ask me the fifty fourth number in a sequence and ix be stumped.
Patience is the key thing, the best things come to those who wait as they say and experience words in different contexts over a period of time.
2 Likes
This is key. You could cover all levels in a month or six weeks, enter a conversation - the person opposite you says stuff you’ve covered but the accent, the tempo, the lilt, the fear etc. all contributes to us not understanding. With time and exposure comes understanding.
My goal is to get to that stage where I can learn Welsh vocab through context in Welsh. I have no idea how long that will take and I’ve stopped rushing myself to get there. I’m going to enjoy the ride and relax into it. I hold my hand on my heart and admit that I’ve tried to be “the quickest”. A fruitless task that only leads to frustration.
2 Likes
I am getting a little concerned about the vocab i’m currently learning…
“Dwi’n drwgdybio bod ti isio llofruddio fi”
Hmmmmm
1 Like
I had heard (second hand) “onion Johnny”, FWIW.
1 Like
I do various things, with varying levels of patience, application and hard work (varying from some to none… ), but one thing I do is listen to Radio Cymru, typically on my computer, and write down words that I don’t know, half know, or sound interesting.
With luck I get the spelling right; some I need to correct via a dictionary search.
I write down (in a hardback notebook) the meaning and the gender if feminine (default is masculine), but I don’t always write down the meaning straight away. It’s a little memory trick I learned from someone else.
Try to hold it (the meaning) in your short term memory for a bit before writing it down, and that way there is a chance it will transfer itself into your long-term memory. Maybe not every time, but perhaps after the same word has come up a few times.
As I’m on a computer, it’s easy enough to have an online dictionary open on another browser tab, or indeed more than one dictionary, as there are nowadays several good ones available …lucky us!