I have been looking for these double speed examples as used for the intensive courses. I recall that there were such examples following lessons 5 and 10 in course1. Are they hidden somewhere else please?
The listening exercises are on the download pages for Challenges 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 in Level 1ā¦ 
3 Likes
Many thanks for this info Aran. Is there benefit to listening repeatedly to all five challenges, or should one just concentrate on No. 25 which will presumably have the largest amount of known vocabulary?
3 Likes
Sort of bothā¦ #5 (after challenge 25) covers everything, so if you can just dig out 5 minutes a day, do that oneā¦ if you can do more than 5 minutes a day, add one or more of the othersā¦ but also, no harm at all in cycling through them, a different one each dayā¦
3 Likes
Iām afraid that once more I am confused regarding the time to spend listening to the double speed recordings. In the video you say Aran, that for those attending the five day intensive course their level of improved understanding in just five days is remarkable. You then say that āyou tooā can achieve the same increased level of comprehension in five days by following the same practice. I understand that those on the intensive course listen to the double speed recording for an hour a day. Again not sure if that is in one continuous session or split in to shorter periodsā¦ In your responses in this correspondence you recommend doing five minutes per day. If those on the intensive course require one hour daily of double speed listening practice to achieve their greatly improved understanding of the spoken word, I canāt believe that five minutes a day for just five days will more than scratch at the surface. No doubt an excellent daily routine as part of the standard learning programme, greatly to aid comprehension but at a slower rate of return.
1 Like
I guess that for the rapid improvement - you would need to listen to all five recordings as a set and do this for five days.
1 Like
Why not try it? I found that using the listening exercises had a pretty dramatic effect on my listening comprehension, and I was just doing the five minutes daily. It didnāt take a huge amount of input for my brain to acclimatise, so the effect was quicker, and more profound than I was expecting.
3 Likes
It may sound too good to be true, but having learned to ātrust the processā, I have discovered it worksālike so many suggestions offered by Aran and the team, or others on this Forum. Being pretty pragmatic, I tend to ask āWhat is there to lose by giving it a go?ā Good luck!
1 Like
Sorry, this is just a context thing - I didnāt realise you were asking in the context of the 5 day thing.
If you want a serious gear-shift in 5 days, then aim for an hour a day of the accelerated listening - which yes, you can break up into two half-hour sessions, or even three twenty minutes sessions.
If you want to make the listening exercises a regular part of your long term learning, then Iād recommend 5 (or 10 if you can swing it) minutes a day.
At 5 minutes a day, youāll notice some valuable changes in about a fortnight, Iād expectā¦
3 Likes
Many thanks for all the responses.
1 Like
I realise that this course is a proven method of accelerated learning but logically I cannot see any benefit from the double speed listening exercises. I do play and listen but only manage to catch the odd word or two. Sometimes it is like listening to the chipmunks on a bad day. Apology for the critique but I think that I will stay with Falmaiār Fuwch on S4C
1 Like
No need to apologise! Stick with whatever you prefer doing - weāre not here to order anyone aroundā¦
But I donāt think you mean ālogicallyā here - I think you mean that you havenāt seen any benefits yet, or that you feel you wonāt see benefits - because the logic of it is fairly straightforward - work in neuroplasticity has shown that the brain consistently adapts to input, weāve tested it in this context extensively and have yet to meet anyone who doesnāt have that neural response, and (logically!) once your brain can process larger chunks of the language at higher speeds, it will find conversational Welsh easier to deal withā¦
2 Likes
Perhaps ālogicallyā was inappropriate considering that there is a theoretical reason for the double speed. Will stay with the system (as I always intended to do) but now feel better as there should eventually be a benefit. However, I still intend to follow the adventures of Falmai 'r Fuwch!
Theoretical and thoroughly proven in practice, tooā¦
But itās always important to feel good, too, and once you fall in love with Falmai, thereās probably no going backā¦ 
1 Like
Helo, Des
I see your point and most times I only catch 1 or 2 words in a sentence. Rarely do I hear and process the whole sentence. If I do, then Iāve completely lost the next sentence. For this listening exercise, I have to devote my full attention. Because of my need to give full attention, I donāt listen to them as often as I should, so maybe 1-2 times per week.
The benefit, for me, is it forces my brain to process new words, new structural combinations at a much faster pace. Just because, Iām not consciously aware of each word, doesnāt mean my brain is not processing it. It is. In fact, If I go back to the first listening practice done at double speed, I understand most of the words and sentences. This is because, Iāve heard them in the challenges, heard them in the listening exercises and most importantly, Iāve said them and have had them said to me by others.
The listening practices help to train your brain and ear to process information more quickly, because, as you know, native speakers of any language speak it faster than a learner. Itās another tool to help learn Cymraeg. Itās all in the repetition and exploring the language with other speakers.
As always, go with what works. Both Aran and Iestyn strongly suggest, donāt pause the challenges, keep going. Youāll learn it just the same. I like to pause to figure out the sentence before I hear Catrin or Aran speaking it.
Hi Des
I just want to put in a pitch for the double speed listening practices. Iāve mentioned in other places on the forum how much they have really helped me. I play them before I go out to meetings, such as Merched y Wawr and magically people seem to be talking more slowly! The same with people on Radio Cymru - after doing the listening practices, people seem to speak more slowly on there too!
In fact, they have made such a difference to me, that I play other things that I am familiar with at double speed. I download them onto my phone or laptop and change the speed settings. I listen to childrenās stories yn Gymraeg, such as Mog the Forgetful Cat or the Three Little Pigs at double speed.
Just let the words flow over you and donāt try to understand anything to start with. Then, words that you know will start to jump out at you and eventually all the words form into sentences that you can understand without translating - thereās no way you can translate things at that speed anyway.
They do really, really work!
2 Likes
Aran
I am certainly glad that I used the forum. I feel better knowing the rationale behind the course structure and have received sound comment and advice from Helen and Delaware. i now need a change in strategy in my approach and to use the listening exercised more and keep my finger away from the pause button during the challenges!
Regards
Des
2 Likes
As much as possibleā¦ if it leads you to not saying anything at all, then be kind to yourselfā¦ the vital ingredient is to be speaking in every gapā¦ but if you can train yourself to use the pause button as little as possible, itās a great time saver and is also building up exactly the kind of response that will help you most in conversationā¦
1 Like
The double speed listening exercises were instrumental in me becoming such a quick Welsh āUnderstanderā back in the day.
The key for me was dong it often and trying not to specifically understand, but more get a sense of picking out words that I recognised and training my brain to get used to hearing speech at that speedā¦ because when I went out and spoke with proper speakers, they spoke somewhere between the speed the guys speak in the lessons and the speed of the listening exercises, which in turn made speaking to real people quite easy for me
5 Likes