If someone were to move to Wales to an area where Welsh is spoken and they are a family who are interested in learning Welsh, apart from SSiW of course, what advice would you give them. Asking for a friend.
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Start immediately, before they move, for two reasons. I know several people who have moved to Wales full of good intentions to learn Welsh, but who have never actually got round to it, and now make the excuse that they’ve left it too late. And if your friends speak English first to everyone they meet, people will find it hard to change to Welsh later, when they’re ready to begin speaking Welsh. Whereas, if they greet people in Welsh from day one and have conversations, however short and full of errors, they will get really encouraging feedback, make Welsh-speaking friends, and be helped to integrate into the local community.
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I moved to Wales 3 1/2 years ago and dipped into speaking Welsh in the school playground. I use SSiW to increase my fluency during the holidays and it is great. I took lessons with Learn Welsh North West from 3 years ago, and through this you meet many other learners plus Welsh speakers who come to events to give us practise. You also get invited to concerts, panad and chat, trips in Welsh and gardening sessions etc. Also seek out coffee mornings in local villages. All ours have a ‘Welsh Table’ where fluent speakers are happy to spend time chatting with anyone at any level. Seek out Welsh/bilingual cafes and order in Welsh. Also find out where there are \Welsh speakers in local shops and go in to chat. Round here they drop everything to chat in Welsh and we all love it. Wear a ‘Cymraeg’ or ‘Dysgwr’’ badge so people know you are learning. Also, be aware that most children learn Welsh in school, so they are fresh in their learning and often happy to demonstrate their skills. My 14 year old now texts me and phones me in fluent Welsh. Hope it helps. Feel free to ask more.
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