Oh my goodness doing lesson 1 of the new course seems a lot harder and faster paced than the first 2 lessons of the old course that I have been learning over the last two weeks. Is this true or am I just panicking over the different style?
Any one else found this?
Sheila x
S’mae Sheila,
Hmmm, its pretty hard to say for me, but I think that it is a bit faster paced. It is packed with extremely useful words and structures though, and is designed to get you into real conversations a lot quicker than the original course did. I cannot help feeling nostalgic about the old course 1, but the new framework Aran has created for Welsh Level 1 is superb, with the full benefits becoming clearer and clearer as you work through the challenges. So stick with it! Why not do both the old and new courses alongside one another? I am near the end of Course 3, and also doing Level 1, as there is still stuff the learn from it.
Hwyl,
Stu
Thanks for the reply Stu, have had to leave just over half way through new course 1 lesson 1 and will look at it again tomorrow there was too much for me to take in on the first attempt. Will try it a few times before completely going back to old course 1. I think doing both together sounds like a good idea too. X
There is a LOT of stuff in L1 of the new lessons. I would wager a beginner would need at least 3 passes through it. L2 is more relaxed, building on what was learned in L1. Just started L3. It seems harder than L2 but not as much as L1 so far.
Thanks Craig did you do the old course as well or are you just starting on new course 1?
I am on C1 Vocab 3 of the old course.
I recently did L1 (southern) of the New Course, and I’m very curious about the reaction to it from genuine beginners (as opposed to people who’ve done any Welsh before, including any other SSIW lessons).
Do we have any evidence from true first-timers – that is, people who are like I was when I first started SSIW in 2009 – to know whether they tend more often to be (a) inspired by the extremely large amount of different bits & pieces in it, or (b) overwhelmed / put off by the same?
(a) inspired by the extremely large amount of different bits & pieces in it
Just to lay this to rest before it becomes the conventional wisdom - there isn’t that much difference in the amount introduced.
C1Old introduces 10 verbs, 1 noun, and 4 bits of ‘grammar’ - dwi’n, dwi ddim yn, ti’n, ti ddim yn.
C1New introduces 10 verbs, 1 noun, 2 bits of 'grammar (dwi’n + fedra i ddim) and replaces ti’n/ti ddim yn with ‘sut i’ and ‘dal’.
Diane definatly overwhelmed with new course1 lol x
Thanks Aran seeing it like that helps mentally x
Thanks Aran seeing it like that helps mentally x
You’re welcome…
The biggest difference is the sentence length - but we can guarantee you that is enormously beneficial, so make sure you use the pause button to give yourself time to think, and remember that it’s normal, expected and good for you to make mistakes…
Thank you Aran re inspired for tomorrow x
Although I’ve read second to last Aran’s post I’ll put this in anyway (and then I’ll shut up).
Salty If I found old course hard this is way more harder for me so you’re not alone in this. I won’t moan though as all those who follow me anywhere on net probably have enough of my moaning especially people who are behind SSIW. I’ll say only this: I’ve finished all 25 lessons of old Course 1 only to find out that this new Challenge (as it’s called) is really HUGE challenge – probably because of slightly different form of it. Not that I’m against challenges but I strongly wish those old 3 courses remain here for us for a long time yet.
I know hard work is put into those Courses, Challenges and lessons and the whole SSi project, but it might be worthy of following and reconsiddering every learners opinion about how much material to put (or not to put) into some lessons and reconsiddering of (maybe) splitting some of them.
I’m already familiar with how SSiW works and with basics of the language and it doesn’t seam even a bit strange to me anymore, but I’m trying to imagine a learner who only comes on new on here to learn and (although I’m not a quitter even if I say many times I’d quit) one might quit already even after 1st challenge. Taking into considderation I’m not even native English speaker and this for I have to deal with two foreign languages (despite I can read, speak and write English quite perfectly) you can maybe imagine what one person like me (who I believe is many many more on here) has to put into his/her learning (doubled challenge for sure).
But yes, I know - the choice whether one will learn or not learn a language is only that of the learner’s one and not of that of a “teacher’s”. So this is only my coment and nothing more and my general opinion is you’re doing an awesome job.
Thanks for your input, Tatjana - as always, much appreciated.
Taking into considderation I’m not even native English speaker
It wouldn’t surprise me if this was more of an issue with the slightly longer sentences - but we’re going to be doing a lot of work in the next year or so to make sure that we can offer the courses through the medium of different languages, which may help with that.
The balance between ‘easy’ and ‘effective’ is an interesting one. By next year, we should be able to offer easy/medium/challenging options - but one of the things I want to get right about that is that everyone making that choice should understand that easy=slower!
Thank you Aran.
Well, maybe the ballance inbetween speed and difficulty should be the right one. Fast is not neccessarely always good too. To be honest (I might not be to bright obviously) I’m going through the 1st course (old one) already for the 3rd or even 4th time (I forgot to count) to be able to say I am at least a bit confident of speaking (and even if I have a slight chance of speaking I say half of the things wrong out of excitement I am “allowed” to say a word or two in Welsh among those who surround me).
Have learning other languages totally by myself (by quite different methods though) it might very easily be I’m (really) a bit too of perfectionist. Missing one word or two or constantly not remembering words (what constantly happened with that new course) makes me irritated, so yes, that might be the reason I find some things (maybe way) difficult then others.
However in both courses I’ve noticed there is maybe a slight bit of too fast loading of materials despite we practice what we’ve learnt in further lessons.
And one more thing: I know SSi works on a basis of speach and you very strongly recommend to learners not to read at all (I imagin until they’re told to do so), but for example the phrase galla i dim (hope I’ve picked that one from another thread right) I remembered on a basis of seing it written down so maybe in some close future it wouldn’t be bad to have that written guide we had in old course in new one too.
Sorry, I can’t help myself but learning the both thigns simultaniously - speaking and reading/writing - which always helped me through some difficult times in learning. But (yes there is but (again)) learning German, English, Italian or so is WAY different thing then learning Welsh, believe me (well you Aran and the rest of the SSI team know it the best probably) and we - all learners - should be extreamly proud we decided to learn this magnificent but quite different language.
And, well, don’t understand me wrong. I just put my observations as I learn and don’t intend to preach, teach or whatever else with my writtings on here…
Diolch yn fawr i darllen.
(O boy, I didn’t shut up (again)!
Well, maybe the ballance inbetween speed and difficulty should be the right one.
Yes, you’re definitely right about that. What’s right for one person isn’t right for another, though, so we have to do our best to find a middle ground that works, and it’s something we spend (and will continue to spend!) a lot of time on…