Hi @Matilda
It was lovely to read your comments.
I would say keep using what works for you. You sound to have found a method of studying, which you’re happy with, which is great! For some people, using the pause button has caused them to become stuck at a certain point, so for them it may be a good idea to just keep going for a while, without pausing, until they get past that particular blockage.
Ha ha. Yes, I know exactly what you mean 
Yes, we screened for working memory for this approach - I don’t think it would be the best approach for anyone with a weak working memory, for exactly the reasons you outline. I think you’d be far better off getting through Level 1 and 2 in your own time, and then aiming for (or recreating as closely as possible) the Bootcamp experience… 
Thanks for that!
@aran it is a bit like that with me, especially when my lungs are playing up. I suspect a little pausing when I know what to say, but am running out of time might be not a bad thing in my case - after all, at my age, reaction times slow!! 
@matilda Thank you so much for posting that. I think we are kindred spirits - so much of what you wrote in your post resonates with me! I do really well when I let myself use the pause button. When I don’t, I get this sort of freeze-up panic because I feel under pressure. Which is sort of silly, because I’m doing this for my own enjoyment, no one is putting me under pressure but myself - but it doesn’t seem to matter. I always carry a bit of guilt, because I know @aran’s philosophy is not to pause or repeat, but he’s also said in the past that if using the pause button makes the difference between continuing to learn and quitting, then we should use the pause button. I’m okay with a certain level of discomfort, I understand that mistakes help us learn, but it’s just way too much discomfort for me with no pause button at all. Besides, I make plenty of mistakes even with the pause button
As far as repeating lessons - I did repeat lessons going through Course 1, but I’ve done Course 2, all the Course 1 and Course 2 vocabs, and now I’m about 1/3+ into Course 3, without repeating any lessons. I’m going to have to go back over the Vocabs at some point, because there’s some that didn’t stick, but otherwise so far so good. The interval repetition is working just fine - as long as I’m allowed to have time to think!
My biggest fear about using the pause button has been that I’m not developing a fast enough response time. So recently I put the Course 2 units on a CD in my car. Every time I’m in the car, I do however much of a lesson I can, which can be anything from 5 minutes to a whole lesson. No pausing now, because I can’t, but I should know this material well enough by now and so I don’t feel as pressured. And I am happy to say that so far, I can get those responses out before Cat without a problem, except for when the sentences are very long. Pretty sure the working memory I need for the long sentences is even worse when part of my brain is driving the car!
I started from absolutely zero knowledge of Welsh in May 2015, and I am determined to be finished with Course 3 before the end of April. So in two years, with some breaks in there due to life circumstances, I will have finished the Courses, I can hold a conversation in Welsh, I can read learner level material in Welsh. My understanding of radio and TV has a very long way to go, but it’s getting better all the time. I’m far from fluent (whatever that actually means), but I can express myself in Welsh. So, I’m happy - my method is working for me and I’m having fun. I have nothing but admiration for the people who can do SSiW with the intensive method, and if that works for people, more power to them! But it’s nice to hear that there are other people learning who have some of the same issues that I do
This is good to hear, and makes me feel less guilty for not “playing by the book”
My current plan is to do the Levels when I finish Course 3, and as an experiment I will start with not allowing myself to pause or repeat, since I should be familiar with some of the material. We’ll see what happens…
You should never feel guilty for taking charge of your own learning process… 
Ha Ha, we’ve all been there. Poor Cat. I wonder if she realises she has this effect on people?
Dear @Matilda. If you’d ever read some posts in my thread Tatjana - Progress Reports or some Bootcamp topics you might read my beliefs how I wouldn’t fit into bootcamp, how I just can’t do the lessons, how I don’t say almost anything during doing them (however I never used pause button at all) and all those things which much relate to your beliefs but in time I’ve realized these beliefs are more or less only my beliefs and nothing too much more. You probably can’t say things in time really because you know Cat will speak any second and you bare that in mind already in advance. It’s hard to do anything overnight but try to imagine you are about to participate in a group speaking session where there are people with different habits and level of patience, but you just must do that. So you’d have to go with the flow. I’ve done Course 1 three or even 4 times and the first time I was doing it there was almost absolutely nothing comming from my mouth up from let’s say Lesson 6 (that famous 2-parter …) and all the way till the end. However the more I spoke, the more I went with the flow, the easier it all was. I know it’s hard but try to outthink that Cat will just start speaking and if you say one word it’s fine. As the content is repeating constantly during the lessons so you have enough repetition, you’d say the same things more then once and at one point you’ll just realize you can say what you couldn’t say previously.
Sorry my long and maybe a bit “oh, I know how it works” reply but I’d really love you’d struggle less.
If I’m honest, this course wouldn’t work for me either because nowdays I’m a bit too lazy to go into such intensive flow … what doesn’t mean I don’t learn of course.
As much as I know Cat, being on bootcamp with her, she’s really nice and patient person so you’d surely say a lot.
Oooo, sometimes every my sentence is one big mistake but thankfully you all here made me realize how not to be angry upon myself and carry on. I do mistakes all the time not just in lessons but when Skype practicing or I did them (I think they were quite silly) in the wild when being in Wales many many more. Especially when it comes to past tense with some “rhaid i fi” or similar expressions … it feels like my tongue will split to half as I all of a sudden just blorting something not knowing how to form the sentence at all. So don’t feel bad about mistakes especially when you do them with lessons … [quote=“AnnaC, post:64, topic:6518”]
As far as repeating lessons - I did repeat lessons going through Course 1, but I’ve done Course 2, all the Course 1 and Course 2 vocabs, and now I’m about 1/3+ into Course 3, without repeating any lessons.
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Gee @AnnaC, I have a feeling we really have to have some chat at some point. I bet you’re more skilled then me by now and I love to think this is so!
Exactly what I was talking about earlier in this (too talkative) post.
All in all: Llongyfarchiadau to all three participants and thank you for being here with us. You are not just hard workers (since you’ve made those intensive 5 days) but I feel you all also as extreamly positive people.
That’s very kind of you xx
More honest then kind. Mostly what I think I say and this is how I see/feel you.
By the way: your avatar is misteriously great! Love it.
@tatjana My same tendency to freeze up sometimes happens on Skype. I really need to push myself to talk to “real” people on Skype more (there’s no pressure when I have conversations with myself 
) I’d love to chat with you sometime. You are kind to be so positive about my ability, but there will be no thinking about who is more “skilled”, because that has no importance
I bet you’ll be surprised how much you can really say. You know how stubborn I was (oh boy … no … that was not me … that was one other woman from Mars or somewhere there I believe … 
). I didn’t want to have Skype conversations for ages claiming this is not for me. I predicted @aran would loose all hope upon me even before I open my mouth when the talk with him was set … What really happened was unbelievable. I was talking, although with gaps of silence and making him standing up from his chair to show me what “cadair” is but I was talking … When we spoke the second time I bet he has lost hope I’d ever shut up! .
I’m not Aran, but I’m sure this will give you some confidence. I’m not a monster who eats people who don’t speak so paid poeni!
Gee, Anna, you made me feel so happy all of a sudden!
I LOVE THIS FORUM!
So, here are the ‘saying hello’ videos from the Sunday before the 5 days started…
The quality isn’t great (my fault!) but hopefully they’ll be clear enough for you to see and hear - do let me know if they don’t open for you.
Tomorrow, I’ll post the clips of them speaking on the first day of the 5 days…
Hilary:
Olwen:
Simon:
Great videos a bit dark though but sound quality is fine.
I’m curious about tomorrow ones …
Looking forward to the patients after treatment!!! 
Since I got back my 9 year old son has wanted to read Welsh books with me every night. I think that now that he sees Welsh, not just as something he has to do at school, but something his Mum values enough to spend a whole week doing, he also values it more. Plus, it’s something he can do with me (and not with dad), which is rather special (although I will encourage the other half to take an interest too…)
YESSSSSSSS!
I found @Matilda and @AnnaC 's comments very interesting, about extra pressure of not being allowed to use the pause button. I must say that when the current theory of pushing on regardless became ‘official’, I was secretly thankful that I’d already done courses 1-3, so wouldn’t have to go through that! I absolutely loved courses 1-3, with the original advice of using the pause button, and repeating lessons 2 or 3 (or more) times until you could do them mostly without it. It took much longer to get through the material of course, but that was still a massive short cut compared to traditional methods.
Not wanting to throw a spanner in the works at all - I’ve seen what amazing results a lot of people have had with the levels. More of a comment on the limits of my comfort zone I suppose.
I think it’s all about finding a method which suits you. If we’d used the pause button we wouldn’t have got through so much, so the test of the intensiveness might not have been so obvious I know I’ve struggled in the past trying the get past the first few lessons, so this was a great way for me to just press ahead regardless, which certainly helped me in this instance.
Sounds excellent!
Now that’s a fantastic result!..
I think we’re a little more nuanced than that, aren’t we?
I always say it’s worth testing your limits - because we have plenty of circumstantial evidence that it can trigger a neurological adaptation - but I think I’ve always said that if people find it too emotionally distressing to make that many mistakes, they’re better off using the pause button than giving up…