Not sure what to do about learning Cymraeg

I would join.

Weā€™ve pretty much got our script generation tool in working order now - Iā€™m expecting weā€™ll be smoothing out the last few minor issues in the next couple of months - and weā€™ll be starting work on the online recording interface (which will accelerate the script->publish process very significantly) in the next couple of weeks or so.

Which may be a slight case of ā€˜too much infoā€™, but it boils down to a fairly confident expectation that weā€™re going to be starting to produce material for a lot of new languages by [crosses fingers] this summer at the latest.

No reason at all why Slovene shouldnā€™t be one of them, if we can find a volunteerā€¦:wink:

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Gareth, as someone at the forefront of Welsh language learning (everyone I know has one or more of your books) how do you see the future of the language? What, in your opinion, would be ways of moving the education system forward in Wales to produce more effective second language speakers? I mean almost every Welsh youngster is taught it but it hasnā€™t produced a tidalwave out on the streets.
I can only speak of my own experience of learning French in England - as an example - but there seems to be something fundamentally wrong in the way languages are taught in Britain. Over fifty years plus, tens of million pupils are taught French but we donā€™t seem to produce many people able to use itā€¦Diolch!

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No problem, but you surely wonā€™t like my voiceā€¦ :slight_smile:

And thank you all for showing interest in Slovene. Iā€™m honoured. However CUTION! Our - Slovene - language is one of those rear who have udality aswell. :slight_smile:

Dinas, thank you for your kind words.
I cannot see the future. But my guess would be a secure position as a viable second language throughout Wales, and hopefully consolidation as a first language yn y Fro Gymraeg. I wouldnā€™t go further than that, but that would still be far better prospects than any of the other Celtic languages, I suspect.
We donā€™t produce many foreign-language speakers in England because English speakers have little need, and therefore no interest or incentive, for foreign languages. I donā€™t think itā€™s primarily to do with teaching methods. The US is the same, for the same reason. The Dutch and the Finns (and the Slovenes!), on the other hand, are very good at foreign languages, for the opposite reason.
Depressing, isnā€™t it? :smile:

You wouldnā€™t believe, but in Slovenia youngsters at school among themselves talk 80 % English, quite less German and even less other languages. Also already in primary school in 6th grade they start to travel around as part of the school program. In 6th grade 2 foreign languages are taught besides primary one - Slovene and in middle schools at some education programs even 3 or 4 foreign languages are taught. We (I go among them) who are ex Yugoslavia generation were also taught Serbo-Croatian for half a year already in 5th grade of primary school and as we use it a lot those days itā€™s almost like native language to us. We also have one other advantage: in general not even one sound is hard for us to produce (like German r and ch and even Welsh ll if you want) so if we put good effort into phonetics we can become very good speakers of any language.

Oh, and, as we got off direction of this topic again, maybe it would be wise @aran does some revision again and put these language discussion into separate topic maybe? (or not, I donā€™t know ā€¦just my thought) .

Very true about US language learning, based on my experience. I had an excellent teacher for Spanish, but he was constrained by over-large class sizes (public school system) and curriculum requirements. The result is that after 5 years of Spanish classes, I cannot have a conversation. Iā€™ve also encountered negativity about learning a second language if English is your first, especially if itā€™s not something that would be ā€œusefulā€, like Mandarin or Spanish.

All the people I know of whoā€™ve become fluent in second languages have done so by just doing it. One of the girls I studied abroad with was well on her way to being a polyglot. She learned enough Russian in a year to be able to conduct interviews in it for her thesis by making her Russian-American friends speak with her in Russian. By the time we left Italy, she was completely functional in Italian and had even learned a bit of Arabic from the Egyptian guys who worked at our favourite pizza place. Iā€™ll admit that at the time I just thought she was a combination of genius and nuts. Now Iā€™m thinking she was just a genius. :wink:

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Yes, just doing it is the way. But it is harder in a country like Wales because it is harder to find situations where one can be exposed to Welsh only for most of the time. But if you can, it works just like with any other language. I learnt by sharing a flat with a bunch of girls from Meirionnydd and Ynys MĆ“n, and making an agreement with them that not one word of English would they speak whenever I was in earshot.

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Thatā€™ll work!

Oh it did!

Iā€™m sure Iā€™m not alone in thinking that should be your next book :sunny:

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Blocbystar y flwyddyn! :smile:

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Ignore the negativity and enjoy siarad yn cymraeg. I have experienced similar although probably to a lesser extent but I just carry on regardless.

I think it is more important to get along to local groups and siarad any way you can with all the welsh you have

Just Say It.

j

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Thereā€™s your motto/tag line for SSi, @aran! :wink:

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I think you could be onto something there :star:

Glad to read your continuing with the class.
remember your goal!!
All roads lead to it.

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High school teachers of English throw up their hands in despair at the language they hear in the playground, and many of them believe that teenage text language will destroy the English language, but funnily enough the kids keep passing their standard grade English exams. The same thing applies to your Welsh.

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John McWhorter did a TED talk on this very subject.

The same thing applies to every language I suppose. With Slovene in our schools itā€™s prety much the same ā€¦

Jenny, I was thinking about your situation and I wondered if you are able to ask your teacher if he/she is actually teaching ā€˜written/read Welshā€™ rather than the conversational variety? I suspect this to be the case and, if it is, you might be able to transfer to a conversational course or at least realise that you are not learning to speak!! When I was in school, the only language teaching consisted of lashings of grammar and was very literate!! (That applied to ā€˜English Languageā€™ as well as other tongues!). But in those days few people went ā€˜abroadā€™ on holiday and those who did stayed in expensive English-speaking hotels!! from Jackie