I’ve just finished level 3 north and am now wondering what best to do next? I have previously got to the early stages of the old course 3 before I switched to the new levels. I’ve really enjoyed the new courses and have really felt my Welsh improve beyond belief to the extent I actually managed a 20 minute conversation in Welsh last week (well Wenglish to be completely honest!) without getting a ‘gur pen’! At this point I must say a big diolch for making such a fantastic course!
I’m happy to go back to the old course 3 and work through that again but wondered if there is any plan in the near future to add more lessons to level 3?
Yes, I understand that Level 3 will be completed, but that this will take time.
Some of us have gone through the old Course 3 in the mean-time to gain some extra knowledge. Others have done a similar thing with the other region South/North in the “Levels”. Its all knowledge, if you fancy the pain
A massive llongyfs from me on completing level 3, well done. As far as what to do next I would say … everything. Go over the last lesson every now and then to keep it fresh, do some listening practices for the same reason, listen to radio Cymru, watch S4C, read, and most importantly get out and speak to people as often as you can.
Do you live in Wrecsam? If so try to get to y Saith Seren on a Monday evening and chat with other people. If you don’t live there there’s bound to be a group near you to attend.
Woohoo! Llongyfarchiadau! Finishing all three levels is a huge accomplishment!
As for what to do next:
Pat yourself on the back. And repeat.
After that, how about expanding your vocabulary in a way that you like? For me, what worked was reading the Nofelau Nawr series of books for learners, and Cant y Cant i Ddysgwyr (a book of essays for learners), and – a big boost to my vocab – finding pop singers that I enjoyed singing along to in the car. For you, it could be Pobol y Cwm, or rugby, or whatever you enjoy that will let you pick up words bit by bit.
I did adopt a rule that worked very well for me: I was responsible for learning ONE new word/phrase/bit of grammar/whatever every day. Didn’t matter what it was or where I learned it, since all Welsh is good Welsh. If I learned more than that, great, but no pressure. That gave me a sense of constantly moving forward bit by bit without feeling like I was reduced to memorizing.
Yes, more lessons before too long - would already be there by now if we hadn’t hit such a busy patch with the 6 month and 2 year courses…
Otherwise…
Get yourself an hour a week in a one-on-one conversation with a Welsh speaker, listen to as much Radio Cymru as possible, and read stuff you enjoy.
This is ALL you need from here on in.
If you want to carry on with our stuff for the sake of comfort, I’d recommend doing a daily 10 minute burst on the accelerated listening exercises (listening exercises for Level 2 coming soon) - and then revisiting the last lesson/challenge of each level/course once a week or so…
But seriously, you’ve learnt Welsh. You just need to use it now…
I forgot to say llongyfargs mawr . Also as well as Gruntius’s wise guidance have you tried this forums Welsh speaking practice and also the Slack hangouts? Actual group conversations by a sort of conference call. If not, I can confirm that they are much gentler and more informal than I thought they would be. You only need to be able to string a couple of sentences together to get on with it, but you should be at a higher level than most of us if you’ve completed the course.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and congratulations, much appreciated.
I do watch a lot of S4C already so will continue to do this, I think I need to watch more of the shows without subtitles now. I will definitely be trying the accelerated listening exercises and revisiting some lessons. I’ve done most of my learning by downloading the lessons and doing them in the car so would like to keep this going. I will also look at getting involved in group conversations as I do find it difficult to practice my Welsh as much as i would like.
. Also as well as Gruntius’s wise guidance have you tried this forums Welsh speaking practice and also the Slack hangouts? Actual group conversations by a sort of conference call. If not, I can confirm that they are much gentler and more informal than I thought they would be. You only need to be able to string a couple of sentences together to get on with it, but you should be at a higher level than most of us if you’ve completed the course.