I signed up to SSiW a couple of weeks ago and worked through Lesson 1 but had to reboot my iPad and now I’m completely lost. I seem to be able to access 3 versions of the course and none are the same as the one I’d worked through. None are giving me the words and sentences in Welsh, which I was getting before, and all of them are soooo fast! I’ve looked through some of the forum qs and ans and even more confused now as they mention bootcamp, daily practice sessions and vocab refresh, none of which I can see. I’ve no idea what I was accessing before. Is there an idiots guide anywhere explaining how I actually use this properly? I always thought I was quite computer literate but this has me stumped so I’d be very grateful for any help. Diolch!
Bore da, Bobbie!
There are indeed three versions of SSiW, each developed at different stages as the platform has grown. These include the “Old Courses 1, 2, and 3,” the “Classic Challenges,” and the new “AutoMagic App” (also available on the website).
I started with the “Classic Challenges,” which consist of three levels, each containing 25 challenges that are roughly 30 minutes long. Each challenge includes a vocabulary list, and there’s also a PDF with all the vocab available on the SSiW Forum. Additionally, every five challenges or so, there’s a “Listening Practice” session. Both the challenges and the listening practices can be accessed via the website or downloaded as MP3s.
The new AutoMagic App is definitely worth checking out - it has streamlined and automated all previous course materials into one app.
I haven’t explored the “Old Courses” in detail yet, but from what I’ve seen on the forums, some learners tackle these after completing the “Classic Challenges.”
I hope this little explanation helps you to navigate and choose. Either way, SSiW is an absolutely fantastic resource and you will be staggered at how quickly you will learn Welsh.
Have fun
Chris
Just to add to Chris’s clear explanation above - the latest SaySomethingin app is available in the usual app stores, if you’d like the mobile version, or by going to app.SaySomethingin.com in a browser.
What you get first up is the latest learning methodology which takes you through in a constant learning stream rather than distinct Challenges (lesson) which the previous system used.
But the app also acts as a gateway to ALL of the SSi learning material. If you go to ‘Account’ then ‘My Resources’ you can see a list there which includes the ‘Classic Challenges’ and even the ‘Original Course’ material, so you should be able to find what you started with plus have a look at the different ways of learning available there.
Ah, I didn’t even know about the latest SaySomethingin app, I was far too engrossed in completing the challenges - I will go and download that now! The more resources the better
Thank you Deborah
@Deborah-SSi - The SSi app is excellent.
I am currently on Challenge 22 of Level 2 in the South Classic Challenges. Is there a way to align the SSi app to roughly the same stage, or is the course progression structured differently in the app?
Hi Deborah…
Just to be clear, you can get to the Old and New course through the Automagic app, but it’s only a portal to the website, so it doesn’t respond to earphone commands (or it doesn’t with an iPhone and AirPods, anyway). To be strictly accurate, it responds to some earphone controls sometimes, but doesn’t at others. Play and Stop seem to work most of the time, but sometimes don’t, and rewind and fast forward usually don’t work, but sometimes do…
That means it’s only really suitable if you’re sitting down in front of it. If you want the ability to do the Old/New courses while you’re walking the dog, you need to install the older app, which still works the way it used to.
You can tell the difference in the App Store:
SaySomethingin: New ‘Automagic’ app: Automagic works as intended but Old/New courses don’t allow ‘hands-off’ use.
Say Something in Welsh: older app which give full access to the Old/New courses, but doesn’t have AutoMagic.
TBH, this is also a problem with Automagic as Rewind/skip don’t work there either. But as the Skip button is being reworked (AIUI) so you don’t have to press it 3 million times to get to the later stages, perhaps that will be rectified soon? This is the main reason I’ve stuck with the older courses – I have to be able to use the app while walking the dog .
Thanks.
@christopher-14 at the moment there isn’t an easy way to align the app. There are plans to add some kind of assessment into it, which will make it easier for people to start further on. For now, the only way is to use the ‘Skip’ function and jump forward a little at a time. When I’ve used it myself in testing, I usually find that pressing Skip, 4 or 5 times takes me from one Challenge into the next, but it does vary so you can’t count on that every time.
Thanks Chris. I’ll explore them all more logically instead of flying in and out of them in a panic! I think Ineed to form a learning plan and stick to it!
Funny, that’s one reason why I only use the challenges - wanting to be able to use them while walking. I don’t like using up data, so I downloaded every mp3 file. This way I can play them through whatever media player app I like, and if the WiFi goes down it doesn’t matter!
Yep, being able to do them without Internet is a major advantage for me too. Although there’s a weird bug where sometimes the challenge stops or starts half way and I need to try a few times to download or even stream it correctly. I think the bugs been there since I did the Spanish course years ago.