Well - inspired by some of other peoples’ posts and the exhortations in the challenges - here I am to update on my progress.
I have just finished level 1 and course 1, and I have loved them. It took me longer to love level 1, but it came in the end!
Thank you very much to the people who gave me such good and helpful advice on the reading and writing question I asked a few weeks ago. As a result of your help I am also loving “Cadw Swn” which is also helping me learn lots of lovely words, which I am hoping to put together with my ssiw constructions to help me grow my walls and roof conversationally! And for xmas I have got the “ffrindiau” book. But I am trying to read everything aloud and not let my reading muscle mess up my beginner’s speaking muscle.
I am watching sc4 and recognising quite a few words now, though still not enough to actually follow what’s going on, as such!
And I have had 4 Skype lessons with the lovely Mererith, who I also found somewhere in one of these threads (“let’s speak Welsh” on Twitter). I know it isn’t exactly Welsh in the wild, but it is amazing to be able to practice for 45 minutes, even though I do feel nearly dead from exhaustion at the end of it. Oh and I have watched some of those cariad@iaith videos which are slightly odd, but have enabled me to learn a lot of animal names. And I have made a 500 word vocab list on quiz let and I am practicing them every day
Thank you to everyone for making this such a lovely forum - between Mererith who is ever so positive and upbeat and all of you and the Facebook people it makes it feel like an amazing learning community helping each other learn Welsh.
Great to hear that you’re doing so well - what a fantastic start! And I’m glad you’re enjoying Cadw Sŵn. I thought it was quite an appropriate introduction to reading, when I was somewhere along the line in course 2. (Level I hadn’t been invented at that point.)
And I can certainly second you on @mererid 's loveliness! I must say if she had been around a couple of years ago, I may have been tempted to spend money a lot earlier in the process…
Sori am fod mor araf gyda hwn! Sorry for being so slow with this!
Dw i wedi bod yn trio cael gwyliau bach o dechnoleg dros y Nadolig er mwyn gallu magu ychydig o gryfder ar gyfer y tymor newydd hwn.
I’ve been trying to have a little holiday from technology over (the) Christmas, in order to gain (literally ‘to nurture’) some strength for this new term.
Diolch am y geiriau caredig, mae’n hyfryd iawn i fi glywed bod chi’ch dwy yn teimlo fel eich bod chi’n elwa o wersi Skype, i ychwanegu at eich profiadau dysgu SSiW.
Thanks for the kind words, it’s really lovely for me to hear that you both feel like you’re benefitting from Skype lessons, to supplement your SSiW learning experiences.
I can testify that you’re both doing incredibly well and I’m filled with pride for both of you, and for all the others I teach. You’ve showed me how effective SSiW really is, and I’m now even more in awe of @aran. It’s definitely made me think about how Welsh is traditionally taught in community classes and what we could do to amalgamate these teaching and learning styles. Gweld chi’n fuan! See you soon!
Diolch @Mererid! Gobeithio bod ti’n iawn. Ti sydd y peth gorau sydd wedi digwydd i fy Nghymraeg ers darganfod SSIW… (Which was the original revelation of course!)
Edrych ymlaen at siarad gyda ti eto!
