Helo!
I’ve been doing the course 1 speaking practices (whole course practice) and they’re not going well 
It seems a massive jump from the 1-6 practices, I was expecting it to be harder but not that much harder.
I know we’re not supposed to pause but I literally can not seem to get the first words out before I’m out of time, I’m usually still trying to work out what tense the sentence is and by the time I’ve got that I’ve forgotten what I’m supposed to be saying
Was this the same for everyone else at the start? Do I just persevere despite hardly putting a sentence together?
Diolch in advance for any words of wisdom! I need them!
Do I just persevere despite hardly putting a sentence together?
Yes, this one…
They are very difficult - more than they need to be - but you will adapt to them, and you’ll get benefit out of them as listening practices during the stage before you can get the words out in time yourself.
Having said that, how you feel is the most important thing of all - because if you start to despair, you won’t want to carry on! So if you’d like to use the pause button with them until you feel a bit more confident, that’s fine too…
It’s worth remembering that the practices are only there to help keep stuff in your mind - so if you’ve got to the end of Course 1, as well as doing the practices you should be moving on to Course 2…
Diolch Aran!
I’ll try to persevere but if I find myself avoiding them or stressing about them I’ll allow myself a couple of pauses 
Sometimes a really great sentence comes up and I think “wow do I really have the Welsh to say that!?”. It makes me really want to pause to see if I am able to!
Wow yes course 2! I can’t wait!
You really do have the Welsh to say everything in those practices. Don’t be surprised if it takes you until halfway through course two to be able to reliably come out with the sentences for the course 1 spoken practices - they’re hard enough that I’d be surprised if first language speakers got them right ALL the time.
That sounds ideal, Sarah…
Chris is completely on the money - as a wordgame, I’m sure that very few first language speakers would get a 100% on one of these exercises…
@Sarah: I agree with Chris. I was a good chunk of the way through Course 2 before those Course 1 practices became easier. At the beginning, I was like you, thinking “This is too hard!” But it’s a cumulative process that runs alongside your progression through Course 2, so don’t worry about it too much. You’ll get there, dw i’n addo.
Diolch Chris! Diolch Jon! I really appreciate your replies
Its good to hear that I can hopefully look forward to the practices getting easier
Another good reason for me to plough on and throw myself into course 2 
@Sarah: You definitely are not alone in finding the speaking exercises difficult. In some ways they are much more difficult than actual conversation, because instead of coming up with how to say something that you actually WANT to say, you are just repeating some random phrase that someone else has come up with, and you’re on the clock too. That can be nerve wracking.
One thing that I found has helped me is this: don’t overthink the phrase or your response. Just start talking. You already know the material, it’s just a matter of getting your conscious mind out of the loop and making it automatic. There’s no time to diagram the original sentence or to plan out the response. Whenever I do that, there is no way that I’ll get my answer out before Cathrin starts talking. You will probably be surprised by how much you have at the tip of your tongue if you let it come out.
Jeff Anderson: One thing that I found has helped me is this: don’t overthink the phrase or your response.
This is one of the keys to the speaking practices (Diolch, Jeff!). Say something, anything. Don;t worry about tense or shape or where to start or finish, just say the first thing that comes into your head. Sometimes it will be gibberish. Sometimes it will be funny gibberish. Usually, you will be spoken over by the Welsh. Over time, you will get closer to the target Welsh sentence, and when you are saying something different, you will often notice that you are right as well, or close enough as to make no odds.
Remember the point of the speaking practice. It is to make you speak. Not neccesarily to say the right stuff or even to say what we’ve asked you to say, just to speak. Treat it as a bit of fun. Recognise where you are (and if that’s at zero accuracy, that’s great!), and watch out for the little improvements. If you start off stressing that you should be perfect, and aren’t. you’ll hate it. If you start off recognising that you are an extremely inexperienced speaker, and that you are growing, in experience and in ability (they go hand in hand!), I hope you’ll enjoy them immensely.
Da iawn ti - well done on getting to the end of course 1, and on getting to the point of being capable (if not yet able!) to do the C1 practices. You really are at the start of your most exciting period of your Welsh career!
Oh, and while it’s not entirely on topic, do be sure to take a look at the new course 1 too - there’s a lot of new stuff in there, from things you’ve not encountered before on this course (like “how long have you been learning to speak Welsh?” - the first question you’re likely to be asked by any Welsh speakers you talk to) to new ways of saying familiar things. The new Listening practices for that course will help your ear for Welsh too.
Diolch Jeff! Diolch Iestyn!
Great advice that I will try to follow, I have been trying too hard and just need to relax and let my brain give me the answers naturally…and I need to be patient until it does! It’s lovely to come on here and know that other people have been where I am now and always get friendly words of advice
@Chris, I’ve had a listen to the first 5 challenges and they are great, some great new stuff in them! I wasn’t sure on them at first but I really enjoy them now Im going to try and do them alongside course 2