(Gweler isod am y Saesneg / See below for English).
Helo, sut mae pawb? Dwi heb fod ar y fforwm am sbel felly roeddwn yn meddwl baswn i’n rhoi update bach i chi.
Dwi wedi gorffen fy Lefelau A, ac mi ges i A* yn y Gymraeg.
Dwi bellach yn gwneud gradd yn y Gymraeg yng Nghaerdydd ac dwi’n gwneud y llwybr iaith gyntaf, sydd yn golygu mod i’n astudio gyda myfyrwyr eraill a aeth i ysgol Gymraeg. Dwi heb ddweud wrthan nhw mod i wedi dysgu. Dwi hefyd yn byw mewn “halls” Cymraeg.
Ar hyn o bryd, dwi ddim yn defnyddio llawer o Saesneg ac yn ei ffeindio’n anodd wrth fynd adre a siarad Saesneg.
Faswn i ddim yn gallu wedi cyflawni hyn heb ddefnyddio’r wefan hon. Diolch o’r galon i SSIW a phawb arall sydd wedi rhoi help a chyngor i fi dros y blynyddoedd.
Gobeithio bydd hyn yn rhoi tipyn o ysbrydoliaeth i’r rhai ohonoch sydd yn dysgu ac efallai’n cael tipyn o drafferth? Dal ati!
Hello, how is everyone? I haven’t been on the forum for a while so I thought I’d give you a bit of an update.
I’ve finished my A levels, and I had an A* in Welsh.
I am now doing a degree in Welsh at Cardiff university and am undertaking the first language route which means that I’m studying with other students who went to a Welsh school. I haven’t told them that I’ve learned. I also live in Welsh halls and am finding it hard to speak English now as I go days speaking only Welsh.
I couldn’t have achieved this without the help and support from SSIW and all of it’s members. Diolch mawr to all of you!
Maybe this could give those who are having a little difficulty at the moment some motivation and inspiration… Keep it up guys! It can be done and you’re in the very best of hands!
Diolch i’r ddau ohonoch! I wanted to share this as I can remember there being times along the way where I was frustrated and didn’t think I could grasp certain aspects of the language… My confidence at times also meant that I made silly errors… Who’d have thought that I’d now be doing a degree in Welsh and would live with Welsh speakers… Such an amazing experience! I can’t praise SSIW enough for what they do and how they do it!
Rhaid i mi ddweud bod y wefan wedi newid cymaint ers y tro diweddaf mi ddefnyddiais y peth, ond y mae’n edrych yn dda.
Wow - Dan! Diolch am dy eiriau caredig, ond yn fwy, diolch am weithio a gweithio, a mynd heibio’r rhwystrau i gyrraedd y lefel uchaf un, sef byw trwy gyfrwng y Gymraeg. Llongyfarchiadau!
That is my favourite, that no-one knows, and in the end, that you will forget yourself. After all, the way you’ve learned is just part of a continuum. Some in your halls will have learned since being in the womb, some will have learned from nursery onwards, and some probably started learning at 5, when they started school. You started a bit later, and there are those on SSiW who have started a bit later again. But the result is all that matters.
I get loads of inspoiratiopnal quotes on twitter, and one I like is from Nelson Mandela: It doesn’t matter where you start. What matters is how high you aim. Well, your aim has been spot on so far, and you’re obvioulsy going further.
Da iawn ti - wi mor falch i ti adael i ni wbod. Diolch!
Llongyfarchiadau! This really has inspired me. I’ve just moved to Cardiff, determined to become more confident in learning Welsh, but have been in a bit of a rut - now I will dal ati!
Well done Dan, I’m at the other end of the age scale. ALL inspiring accounts work for me. What will you do when you go back home? Will it be a struggle to speak in English? or you could get the whole family on the SSW trail.
Fantastic achievement, Dan, thanks for letting us know! I’d really like to hear a bit more about your story - how you got into it, what your breakthrough moments were, etc, if you’d like to share?
Great to hear from you, Dan. I wondered how you were getting on. I’d put lots of dancing dragons on here if I knew how! How fantastic that you’ve found somewhere you can really immerse yourself speaking Welsh all the time. Many good wishes for your future.
Oh, I know just what you mean, Dan. You start to speak and suddenly your brain freezes and you find all the spots have fallen off your hand of cards.
This post is in praise of the SSIW method which WORKS. Recently I plucked up courage and spoke from the floor at a little local meeting when they were taking questions. It was a fairly complicated sentence with at least one long word! For once, courage was rewarded. I got through it in a relaxed manner!
The real reward came afterwards, when the one person I really want to accept me came and sat by me and said - tell me, what was your first language again? It was like the frog costume had fallen off at last.
There are still peaks ahead to climb, but I feel I have reached Eryri at last - land where the eagles fly. That’s enough mixed metaphors for one post, with flying frogs playing poker, but a million thanks to the SSIW team, and hopefully encouragement to myself and everyone else who has ‘oops’ moments when speaking.
Everybody has ups and downs with every skill, even your first language (there are just more ways to hide it!) - so don’t switch off the excitement, it’s clear you’re doing superbly.
Diolch i bawb am y geiriau caredig! Ymddiheuriadau am beidio a^ dod yn ol atoch chi yn gynharach!
Fel y dywedais o’r blaen, nid wyf wedi cael cyfle i ddefnyddio’r wefan cymaint ag yr hoffwn.
Nid oeddwn wedi gweld yr ymatebion tan heddiw.
Mae cwpl ohonoch wedi gofyn am sut y dysgais… Mae croeso i unrhyw un fy ebostio os oes angen unrhyw help neu gymorth arnoch! Mulq96@gmil.cm
Mae pethau wedi newid braidd ers i mi bostio’r neges uchod… Rwyf wedi mwynhau’r holl brofiad o siarad a defnyddio’r Gymraeg pob dydd eleni, ond rwy’n teimlo nad yw gradd yn y Gymraeg i mi! Rwy’n gadael i wneud Gwaith Cymdeithasol, gan mai hwn yw’r hyn yr wyf eisiau ei wneud yn y dyfodol.
Thank you all for the kind words! Apologies for not getting back to you earlier!
As I said before, I have not had the opportunity to use the site as much as I would like.
I had not seen the responses until today.
A couple of you have asked about how I learned … Feel free to email me if anyone needs any help or assistance! Mulq96@gmil.cm
Things have changed a bit since I posted the above message … I have enjoyed the whole experience of speaking and using Welsh every day this year, but I feel that a degree in Welsh isn’t for me! I am leaving to do social work, as this is what I want to do in the future.
(Sorry if the English is a bit clunky, I translated it from the Welsh via Google because I didn’t want to have to re write it again!)
I wanted to share this as I can remember there being times along the way where I was frustrated and didn’t think I could grasp certain aspects of the language… My confidence at times also meant that I made silly errors… Who’d have thought that I’d now be doing a degree in Welsh and would live with Welsh speakers… Such an amazing experience! I can’t praise SSIW enough for what they do and how they do it!
