I’m only on challenge 2 but I’m finding I’m having to pause and take my time to think of the longer sentences. For example “but I can’t remember how to say what I want to say”.
I’ve gone through it a couple of times now but can’t seem to get the Welsh quick enough without pausing. I am getting most of it right taking my time though.
Is it really important not to pause? Are other people struggling with this? 
Firstly, welcome to the SSiW community!
Secondly, you’ll soon get used to the ‘mantra’ “don’t worry” - yes, lots of people find it hard to a) get the words in without using pause and/or b) remembering what the English sentence was in the first place!
How much you use the pause button is up to you. Whilst it’s best to try and use it as little as possible, some people do need to use it more than others. The thing is, try not to start to depend on it. As long as you’re saying something in the pause and getting almost all of it in - even if it means finishing the sentence in a different way - then that is still progress. There are a number of threads on the forum where others have had the same experience, and where still others have posted tips and how they coped. If you search the forum for “pause” (using the magnifying glass on the top bar), you’ll find lots of helpful threads.
Well @Andrea, speaking for myself, if I hadn’t been able to use the pause button extensively, I would have given up long ago in utter frustration. As it is, though still a slow learner with a long way to go, my speaking ability has come on by leaps and bounds over the last year and I have now had a good number of conversations in Cymraeg on Slack and Skype. So don’t worry about it but just use the pause button as much as you need to.
S’mae @Andrea! Challenge 2 turns up the heat with the long sentences, that is for sure. As a veteran of the SSi method, I can assure you that, no matter how improbable it seems to you now, you will not need the pause button after a while. Indeed, eventually, you’ll fit 2 or 3 repetitions in before the Welsh starts (I know, that’s not possible, right?). You have to trust the method and not worry about using the pause button. You’re building neural pathways in the brain, and they take a little time to get going, but soon, using the pause button will become less of a crutch, and you will find that you won’t need it nearly as often; that’s a promise.
Hwyl,
Stu
Thank you all, I feel far less worried about using the pause button now. I’ve always been one of those who just don’t learn languages well so I’m chuffed that I’m even managing to take it in and respond with the words even if it is slow. Even 2 challenges in, I’ve come further than I ever have before
Congratulations on sticking with the challenges! It’s really important to understand how huge this is, especially as you progress. I can speak from my one year’s worth of experience, that many times I feel I don’t know much (because I listen to Radio Cymru or watch S4C) and I only get fragments of sentences, sometime words and other times absolutely nothing. The truth is, I do know a lot of Welsh. I’m just not fluent. Keep being proud of your achievements, even if you have to pause. I’m on Level 3 and I still pause, because I want to answer before Catrin does and see how accurate I am.
@Andrea I can vouch for the truth of this statement! Sometimes I do indeed get in three repetitions beforehand, leaving me time to repeat the phrase two more times right after them for intonation and other fine-tuning. Other times, with new words and phrases (or old ones that still get stuck) I will use the pause button some of the time.
If you’d asked me in January, I would have laughed and laughed… but here I am!
Dal ati!
Yes, I’m the same! I’m finding the longer sentences quite frustrating at the moment, not so much on vocabulary but trying to remember what the long sentence is in English to translate.
I’m right at the beginning tho so will perserve.