Hello, I am brand new to Welsh, but excited about the journey ahead. I am currently on the Orange-white stripe belt. I have been doing about an hour per day and was wondering how much is too much? Is there a point where too much progress in a day becomes counter-productive to your memory? Or should I continue if I’m still enjoying it and doing decently?
I’m sorry if this has been asked a thousand times already. I couldn’t find it anywhere.
Thanks
Firstly, welcome to SSiW.
Keep plowing on. Even when you think you’re floundering and not absorbing anything new, your brain really is processing the information.
SSiW has done some intensive programs where for 2 days, students were bombarded with new material. The results were remarkable.
There is no too much. Crazy people with the time to spare have done 10 hour per day “intensives”. Your brain may feel like mush by the end of that, but it still works.
Throat lozenges / hot honey and lemon drinks may be required. Always stay hydrated!
Thank you both very much for the very helpful replies. I’m amazed by how I can easily go an hour without feeling any fatigue.
Yes, you’ve had good advice here, Michael - an hour a day is extremely rapid progress, and no need at all to push beyond that - it’s also true that we’ve tested 8 to 10 hour days for a 10 day run in Ireland last September and a 10 day run on Japanese last January - and it definitely holds up (although it’s also very interesting to witness the process of consolidation when you have a break after an intensive run). Good luck!
Yes, the rules don’t apply to us on the spectrum. My advice above was aimed at neural-typicals. I’ve always had to pace myself and use the pause button.
I am quite interested in this question, as I’ve previously done three in person immersive courses (yes, I know how lucky I am). One was the Welsh Wlpan in Llanbedr about 25 years ago, which I think was a month? which was fine; one was the Middlebury Chinese course (beginner, no English used, 8 weeks) and one was six months in Taiwan - 3 hours class time, at least 3 hours out of class. The first was great, but I was young then. The second, I really felt I needed a break at the six week point (even weekends were intense as there was an exam every Monday morning, and I was doing traditional characters of which I had learned none before arriving). The third, the volume was much more manageable, but I’m not sure the pressure was enough…I feel like a month’s really intense burst followed by some processing time before another burst might be best, but no way to test this. I’m hoping to do a month’s intensive in Korea this summer, before going back to Taiwan (and continuing to do some Korean through Mandarin), but this is dependent on a couple of things I don’t control. I really want to see what happens when I combine classes with SSi 
I hope you keep sharing your experiences with us! It will be fascinating to hear how you get on.