Hi all. I am currently on the northern Welsh course 1 , lesson 12 and am enjoying it very much and finding it very useful . After reading the forums it seems that I should possibly be doing level 1 instead. I was just wondering weather it would be best to switch now to level 1 or to carry on with the courses. Sorry if I’m going back on a topic that has already been covered 
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Hi:) I started with Course 1 too and then read here that Levels were better, but as I was on lesson 6 or 7 by that time, I just carried on with the course I was doing and enjoyed it very much. Levels and courses don’t really repeat each other, they’re quite different, so you can finish course 1 and then do the levels. But it’s up to you, of course:) I’d say that Level 1 is a bit more “conversational”, by which I mean that the sentences are very useful in real conversations, but Course 1 has (again, to my mind) more explanations about the structures that are used in it.
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Honestly, it’s entirely up to you - you won’t repeat very much either way, so where I would recommend the levels for someone who has only just started, there’s really no reason not to carry on with something that also works.
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I usually push as hard as I can in the direction of the levels - but if you’ve got that far through Course 1, I think it would probably be nice and tidy and generally good for you to finish it off (maybe on a real whirl, don’t-repeat-any-of-the-sessions kind of basis) before hopping over to taste the delights of Level 1… 
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Diolch yn fawr for all your helpful replies . I will carry on with course 1 for now and then move on to level 1 . I have to say that this method is a great way to learn . I have managed to have to converse in Welsh succesfully a number of times the past few days but generally converting back to English after about 20 seconds lol . It helps that I am around Anglesey and Caernarfon most days with work so there are always plenty of opportunities to practice Thanks again . Nos da
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That sounds like a huge bonus…
Once you’ve got to the end of Course 1, it would be very valuable for you to try to arrange an hour of Welsh only with someone you already know - putting up with all the awkward pauses, because they are exactly when your brain is doing the most important work of figuring out how to try and get the meaning across…
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Thanks for your advice Aran that would be very helpful . Sometimes it is too easy to convert back to English when your brain is taking too long to think how to reply in Welsh lol. Luckily my daughter is fluent in Welsh having learnt it at school so she would be the ideal candidate
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Yes, exactly this - it’s one of the biggest barriers to learning! But if you commit to pushing through the ‘can’t think of what to say’ pain, you develop the skills you need far, FAR faster than people who switch back to English…
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I had and switched. Then later when I got bogged down and said I might go back to Course 1, you told me to stick to Level 1.17!! I have compromised by going back to Level 1.15, but I am still very tempted t creep back to the comfort of Course 1!! I think I was at Lesson12 or 13!! Or maybe even 14!!
To @Sam84 You now have permission to stick, but if you are very brave, try the new way!!!
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Well i’m not sure exactly when @sam84 started learning welsh but it was roughly a year ago.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting sam and speaking welsh with him on three occasions. His welsh is fantastic. He even managed parents’ evening in welsh!!!
It shows what can be achieved in a year!
Llongyfarchiadau Sam. A year ago you were one of the di-cymraegs. You’re now a siaradwr go iawn.
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Diolch Pete , yes I think it is very nearly a year since I started learning and have come a long way since then . I’ve still got a long way to go but I’m just about to do the first lesson of the new level 3 after going back over the levels so am looking forward to progressing further . Sometimes there are periods where it feels like I’m not progressing at all or even going backwards but then something happens to make me realise that I have definitely progressed further than I realised .
Yesterday was one of those moments . I posted on here a few months ago I think it was , about me going to a party on Ynys Mon and not being able to understand a single thing that everyone was saying . Well I met up with them again yesterday for an hour . This time I decided I would go there with low expectations and not be bothered about speaking in English if I had to . What a difference a few months has made. I could definitely understand a lot more of what they were saying and could for most of the time , just about follow the conversation. I probably spoke in English half the time and Welsh half the time , just whenever I felt most comfortable and this definitely worked a lot better for me. They did comment that I was speaking Welsh better than the last time I saw them .
Look forward to having a chat again in the near future
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Well parti ssiw soon and minibwtcamp 3.
start new job soon but in the meantime if you fancy a chat and a coffee in the week just let me know
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