I just sampled the introductory Welsh lesson and would be very interested in pursuing the language more seriously. SSiW seems very similar to the Pimsleur method, which I have really enjoyed and had prior success with for other languages. However, the unavailability of SSiW as a single-purchase course like Pimsleur is really putting me off. I am not someone who subscribes to media like this with monthly/yearly payments (it’s not like an internet or utilities contract where I know I’m going to constantly use it daily). I am old-fashioned and prefer to buy a physical recording or audiobook at one shot so I can watch/listen whenever I want without the stress of recurring payments. (Yes, I still buy DVDs and don’t have Netflix!)
Are there any plans to make full SSiW courses available on CD or as digital audiobooks where only a single payment is required to keep the material forever? This would be really appreciated! I would ask my local libraries to purchase them as digital audiobooks so that many people can have access. I have requested my library in the past to buy many Pimsleur language courses and they are constantly checked out. I would love to do the same for Welsh! Thank you.
Helo @dio! Thanks for the suggestion. It’s a great idea and we did actually try to put some of the older sound files on CDs for people to try out at an Eisteddfod a few years back, but we could only get two or three Challenges on there as they’re so big!
Since then we’ve moved on and developed our course to the stage where it responds to the needs of individuals more, with control over how many repetitions of practice phrases you get and the ability to “revisit” recent material or “skip” a little further ahead. That’s the direction that we’re moving in - offering more and more individualised learning, and something like that just isn’t possible with CDs or an audio book.
It is possible for you to download the Challenges as mp3 files, so you can keep them that way and you’ll always have them to listen to moving forward.
I agree that traditional CDs are very inconvenient these days, but digital audiobooks allow full flexibility to skip, re-visit, bookmark a section, etc. and are very much geared towards individual learning. Having to download 30 or so separate files per course is very inconvenient and takes up a lot of space on a phone for on-the-go learners. Being able to have perpetual access to the entire courses fully online in lieu of a single payment (e.g. in Audible, Libby for libraries, etc.) would be wonderful. That way, we could access the courses anytime without having to keep track of which physical device all the mp3 files were downloaded to (and have to transfer them before we buy a new device), and download one file at a time if needed without filling up our phone storage. And libraries could buy the courses and allow patrons to check them out via the Libby/Overdrive app! Please suggest this to the course technology team – it would make a huge difference and be really appreciated! Thanks again.
That certainly sounds like an interesting possibility! Diolch yn fawr! I know that the Tech Team are super busy with all the current development they’re working on, so in the near future this is not something they could add to their workload, but I’ll keep a note of it and when things eventually calm down a little, I’ll put it forward as a suggestion again.