Hi Everyone,
I have recently joined the forum and this is my first post, but have been working on Northern Level 1 for 3 months, and am now on lesson 15. Unfortunately my memory retention is dismal. I can’t even remember the whole english sentence before Catrin speaks.
However- a couple of weeks ago I was on holiday in Caernarfon and went to a charity shop to find childrens books in Welsh to help me ( WCW a’i ffrindiau has English translation - Whoopee! ). When I went to pay for them, the assistant naturally spoke to me in Welsh assuming I could speak it. For a slit second my mind went completely blank and then from nowhere, without thinking I found myself saying “Dwi’n newydd ddechrau dysgu siarad Cymraeg ond fedra’i ddim dwaed llawer hyd yn hyn” Further conversation soon lapsed into English when I mixed up efo for eto. This was my first conversation in the wild and a good ego boost.
I want to thank Aran and the Team and all forum contributors for making my first steps fruitfull.
To anyone who is starting to learn or struggling I would say "Don’t Worry - Trust the SSiW Way - It Works! even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.
Sorry for the long post but just had to say thanks and why
Cofion a pwb lwc
Colin
I’m sure stories like that make Aran and Iestyn’s day! You will certainly remember it. I can stll remember when a patient was talking about “oer”, and I understood. And the time I understood three consecutive phrases in a sermon. It makes all the effort worth while.
With my husband away for about a month I can listen to as much Radio Cymru as I want. It really does get easier.
That’s not uncommon.
It gets better in time.
One trick you can do when things become more familiar is to start speaking Welsh before Aran finishes speaking English. Might not be easy at first, but that also gets easier in time.
Nice to hear of your good experience “in the wild”.
@colinjones It really does get better with time - I had such a hard time with this in the beginning! But yesterday when I started practicing the long sentences at the end of Gwers 22, I realized I wasn’t having nearly as much trouble remembering the English. I think these lessons teach our brains to start processing things in “chunks” instead of as single words after a while (in both English and Welsh).
Besides, do you realize what a LONG sentence you came out with in Welsh?!? Impressive!
Well done Colin and welcome. On my recent trip to Ynys Mon I also managed a short conversation yn Cymraeg and it left me feeling really chuffed too…and determined that I will be able to understand and say more next time I’m there!
Excellent, well DONE Colin! That’s a hugely valuable achievement right there…
This is absolutely normal, so don’t give yourself a hard time about it - particularly with the longer sentences. But it’s okay - you’re not meant to get everything right, you’re just meant to give your brain the exposure it needs, and as you keep on working through new sessions, that’s exactly what you’re doing
I second this trick, I was having a lot of trouble with the English at first, but now I say the first part of the sentence as quickly as possible after it’s said in English, then can spend a bit longer on the second part (which is the section I usually find harder anyway!). Otherwise I felt like I was never getting to finish the harder bits.
When I started with SSiW I found I had the same problem with the longer sentences as other people - I couldn’t remember all of the English. So I started with the first half, just listening to that and ignoring the second half. After listening to that and getting the Welsh out a couple of times, I swapped to the second half thinking I would do the same, but I found I didn’t need to. As soon as I switched attention to the second half the first half came blurting out before I could stop it and I could just carry on with the second half. Sometimes I had to replay what I had said in my head to convince myself that it was actually right as I was so surprised, but it was.
It’s like your experience in the shop Colin - you don’t realise how much is going in until you suddenly produce it like you did. And before long I found I didn’t need to split the sentences up any more. There are reasons why learning a language helps to stave off dementia and I think this working on short term memory must be one of them!
Diolch for the tip Mike, I’m on lesson 4 where longer sentences are introduced for the first time and was really struggling to remember what the English was, work out the Welsh and fit them in before Cat starts speaking. Tried it today where I started on the Welsh before Iestyn finished the English and found it SO much easier!
I find that I have long spells of doing well followed by times when I struggle to remember even the English sentences. I now take this a cue to have a break. Usually about a week or so. I then return to the penultimate lesson I had reached and start again. It works fine for me so like every single other person has said so far… Don’t Worry!
Hi Everyone,
Thank you so much for your warm welcome and encouragement. I really appreciate the advice from everyone and will be putting it into practice.
I have never used the pause button to gather my thoughts as a real conversation has spontaneity. Perhaps I should be using it until I get used to Aran’s teaching method? I learned French at school and by self-teach media so SSiW is a completely different experience for me but a far far better method and much more fun.
Pob Lwc
Colin
Although you’ll hear me suggest differently in the earlier sound files, I’d now recommend you don’t do this - we’ve consistently seen that people who get used to producing (or making mistakes!) at speed retain that advantage the whole way through the course - which of course means you learn much more quickly - so if you can live without the pause button, you’re giving yourself a real advantage in a lot of ways
Hello Aran. Thanks for putting me on the right track. I will happily flog on and do a self review in a month. I have read other members’ experiences and am convinced that your method WILL make me speak Welsh - and that’s why I don’t want to do anything that might hinder my progress.
Diolch yn Fawr
Colin
That sounds like a winning approach to me. I don’t think I can remember anyone who has committed to doing the work and to giving progress updates on here who hasn’t ended up a Welsh speaker
Hi All I am starting lesson 7 on course 1
I’m so glad that I’m not the only one who has trouble remembering all of the English sentence before I can reply in Welsh. I thought in was just me and I was getting a bit frustrated. I started doing some downloaded lessons whilst walking my dogs and therefore not using the pause button. I felt very angry at not being able to hit the pause button and reply in Welsh before the speakers, but I did persevere and I got past that phase, and quite enjoy it now, but I do like to sit down and do the lesson completely, using the pause button if necessary. I also find that I do need the lesson summary to see what I’m saying to start with, and for correct pronunciation on some of the words.[quote=“colinjones, post:1, topic:3014, full:true”]
Hi Everyone,
I have recently joined the forum and this is my first post, but have been working on Northern Level 1 for 3 months, and am now on lesson 15. Unfortunately my memory retention is dismal. I can’t even remember the whole english sentence before Catrin speaks.
However- a couple of weeks ago I was on holiday in Caernarfon and went to a charity shop to find childrens books in Welsh to help me ( WCW a’i ffrindiau has English translation - Whoopee! ). When I went to pay for them, the assistant naturally spoke to me in Welsh assuming I could speak it. For a slit second my mind went completely blank and then from nowhere, without thinking I found myself saying “Dwi’n newydd ddechrau dysgu siarad Cymraeg ond fedra’i ddim dwaed llawer hyd yn hyn” Further conversation soon lapsed into English when I mixed up efo for eto. This was my first conversation in the wild and a good ego boost.
I want to thank Aran and the Team and all forum contributors for making my first steps fruitfull.
To anyone who is starting to learn or struggling I would say "Don’t Worry - Trust the SSiW Way - It Works! even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.
Sorry for the long post but just had to say thanks and why
Cofion a pwb lwc
Colin
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