I’ve just started Level 3, not the deep end 
. Aran wanted feedback so here goes. I got totally lost about halfway through Level 2. I just can’t cope with those really long sentences. There’s no way I’d attempt one if talking to someone else and I’m quite sure they wouldn’t inflict one on me, knowing I was a learner. As for all the tenses, I’m afraid I’ve just lost the plot. Ditto with negatives! I’d told myself I’d give up and go over the first two levels, but, well here I am on the first lesson of Level 3! I’m in no hurry. Because of Covid I haven’t chatted to Welsh friends and my life is pretty busy anyway. My friends and family are not Welsh speaking, so to have a Welsh conversation would mean trying to fit something extra in. A friend is going to get a Welsh conversation group going at some point and I’m happy to wait for that. I enjoy learning, but I don’t feel as if I’m taking much in. My mind just ceases up when Aran does one of his long spiels!! I’ve found some useful stuff in the downloads though that is in much more manageable sentences - Daily Practices C116. Find these are pitched at just the right level, but then I’ve only done the first one . Guessing Aran will say ‘it’s all part of the process’ and tell me I know more than I think, but I really don’t feel that. All that said, I haven’t given up yet and look forward to reaching the end of Level 3 and seeing where I am then. Way better than having to go to a regular weekly class. Love being able to fit it round my own schedule.
Brilliant feedback @selina-medwell, diolch! I’m tagging @aran so he has a greater chance of seeing this message. 
Well done @selina-medwell. 
I think most of us hit the panic button when it’s one of those really long sentences. I get so far with those and then just say, “Can’t remember what you said in the first place!”. You say you don’t feel as though you’ve taken a lot in but I bet you have. Take a look over the vocab list for those two levels - it’s huge. You may not remember it all but I bet most of it is there. Your friend’s conversation group sounds like a great way to go and your confidence and belief in what you can do will grow with each conversation you have. I took a look at the old course last week and found it enormously helpful for explanations and much shorter sentences (which made me very happy!). Good luck with level 3 - just starting that myself.
Can’t believe I’ve just read this but it’s EXACTLY
my experience. The very long sentences completely faze me,even things that I learnt in Level 1 totally escape me as I panic about it!!
I’m near the end of Level 2 and I will finish it but at the moment I’m afraid I’m hardly actually saying anything.
I’m hoping that when I’ve finished Level 2 I’ll be able to revise it all on my own and get it into my head.
Hi Sylvia, that’s what I thought I’d do, but then I realised that I’d probably never move on to it, if I didn’t continue. I’m really disappointed that Level 3 drops the weekly email reminder, although you probably still get it if you sign up to the two challenges a week, but I feel that one is more than enough! I’ve got so used to Monday being the new challenge that I’m just carrying on with Level 3 the same way, but miss the weekly encouragement! Anyway, what I really wanted to say is that, so far, Level 3 is good. Admittedly, I’m only on challenge 2 and that could change, but it’s a nice mix of old and new. It’s not as mind numbingly awful as the latter half of challenge 2! And whilst I miss the weekly encouragement, it’s nice just to concentrate on the lesson and not have to do any extras (or feel guilty for not doing them😉)
Thank you so much for that…it’s very odd because I’ve studied many languages and am reasonably fluent in some of them…the difficulty I have is that sometimes I say the Welsh I think is right and then the answer comes and it’s completely different,but I can’t pick up what it’s meant to be as it’s spoken so quickly…I do realise that that’s how it is in the real world but doesn’t make it easier to learn…
Hi selina-medwell.
Yes, the long sentences can be tricky. What I do is have a go at them anyway, even if I miss a word, and as such, it still adds to the learning process. If it’s a particularly long sentence and I missed some of it, I try to speak the beginning and end of the sentence in Welsh, and don’t worry about the middle bit.
I’m currently on level 2, challenge 22 and am knee deep in long sentences!
Good luck!
I try not to get bogged down in them, try to get them at least half-right and go on to the next challenge. I’ve found that a lot of them gradually sink in and I’m surprised that one I used to struggle with I suddenly know a few challenges down the line. Now at Level 3, #22.
An interesting read, but I take a different view.
One of the things I like about SSiW is that it’s really clear from the outset that the Challenges are only a small part of the whole process of learning to speak Welsh. The emphasis on the other exercises in the emails and the gradual encouragement to go and listen to, and speak Welsh with others outside of the course content, is a strength.
As for the tricky sentences- I struggled with them (still do!) but I really like the way they show the inner-workings of the language and reveal its secrets.
I don’t imagine I will ever need to tell anyone I need to “escape from their pretty eyes” anytime soon, but I still love the sound it makes.
So, for me, the ‘challenges’ are all part of a process of falling in love with the language, and if I remember some useful bits too then great.
I agree that the sense of wanting to master the challenges can be daunting and I think I’ve read elsewhere that Aran wants to erase the bit where it talks about mastering ‘80% before you move on’. I’d agree with that move.
I think if we approach it as a game, not an exam, then we take the pressure off ourselves, and rediscover the fun of learning this beautiful language.
Exactly as I feel at present. I’ve come to a halt & lost my enthusiasm. Hopefully I’ll get going again soon.!!
Feedback @aran. Wasn’t sure where to leave feedback but Aran asked for it in the email.
I loved SSiW and the process. It was easy to follow and manageable alongside life’s other challenges. I also did a bootcamp and loved that too.
I’ve come back to learn welsh many times over the years and have always given up after a short time but the process with SSiW kept me engaged and on track which other methods have failed to do. I’ve learned a lot more with this method than with any other and feel a lot more confident.
Now a couple of negatives unfortunately, but only 2.
The additional tasks in emails got very very difficult and impossible to complete. I live in Scotland and do not know any first language welsh speakers, here or in wales that I could zoom with. So having a task of finding a non learner welsh speaker to have an hour conversation with was looking impossible, never mind the week after when you needed to have 2 x 1 hour conversations and then to have a 1 hour conversation every day of the week, then finally to have a 2 hour conversation. There needs to be a way for people to succeed in these challenges, perhaps a way of pairing up learners with first language speakers for a zoom? I know there is the slack WSP but it is mostly learners and the challenge expressed not do do these conversations with a learner. I didn’t even know where to start looking.
The advanced content needs more direction - I felt lost not knowing where to start or how to tackle it. I listened to some of the suggested starting interviews but they were far too difficult (even after finishing level 3 - I was working faster than the emails suggested) to understand and it didn’t feel like I was adding to my learning, just noticing all the words I couldn’t understand with no way to learn their definitions was frustrating.
Despite the 2 negatives I’ve absolutely loved the course and have recommended it to lots of people since.
Hi Emily-McCaw, did you find a non-learner to practice with? I am on challenge 24 of level 1 but am frustrated that I haven’t found anyone to practice on. I live near Edinburgh.