With Dysgu Cymraeg courses over for the current year, it’s a good time to start looking ahead to September, if you’re considering supplementing your learning with a more traditional course. This is when you are likely to find discounts, early bird prices etc, so it’s an advantage to make the decision early.
@Anne-D gave an excellent summary of what’s available for those of you outside Wales in our 6/6 Support Slack group, so with her permission I’m copying it here. It applies equally to those in Wales who find it hard to get to classes of course, so very useful information. Note that she was replying to a query about learning the southern dialect, but it applies equally to the north.
Learn Welsh/Dysgu Cymraeg is a national adult language learning program, offered through a network of regional providers (mostly what we [in the US] would call community colleges or technical colleges). There are providers in the south who offer courses in the southern dialect, and your coursebook would be in that dialect.The courses are open to adults in or outside Wales.
There are online options on weekday evenings, which usually include a Zoom class of 2 to 2-1/2 hours once a week, and an online self-study unit. My classes have been 1:00-3:30 pm and 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern time, so make the adjustment for your time zone.
The price for a full 30-33 week course (three terms) is currently £90. There is usually a publicly advertised half-price deal when classes for the new term are advertised, and I have taken advantage of it. The next term will start in mid-September.
The course books are available as free PDFs online or in print for about £10 from Gwales.com. Shipping to the U.S. will cost you a bit more than the book, but probably less than getting a PDF printed (and in a non-U.S. paper size). The books are like workbooks, with room for written work, so you would want a hard copy.
If you have finished Levels 1 and 2 of SSiW, or will have finished them by mid-September, you probably want to enroll in the Sylfaen (Foundation) course. You’ll be a more confident speaker than most in your class, thanks to SSiW, but Sylfaen covers grammar and written Welsh systematically, from the ground up. The Canolradd (Intermediate) course, which I’m doing now, emphasizes speaking and vocabulary, though it does introduce new grammatical patterns. Because the coursebooks are available online, you can download them and have a look for yourself.
), you get do more interesting things like listening and watching videos and, reading and discussing a lot of different topics, and a variety of a bit more challenging and fun games.