Thanks a lot for that. It’s wrong on all the devices I use & it wasn’t working when I stayed round my brother. I’ll definitely contact them: I’d assumed it broke when the website got updated & didn’t realise it still works for some people!
Can Dysgu Cymraeg help at all with getting the educational materials used in a cost-effective way? I know they’ve offered help to libraries & other organisations in the past (I realise everyone is strapped for cash, but perhaps they get special dispensation being an educational organisation that wouldn’t apply to you as a broadcaster?)
Halloween itself is what I’ve heard, but not sure if it’s official yet… I’ll try to find out when they’re planning to release that info and let you know.
I think it’s a great idea, Sara. I found a quiz programme on S4C once (can’t remember the name of it), it seemed to be for children between 10 to 14ish. I think, because quiz hosts need to be precise and clear when asking questions, it can often give learners that additional, split second you need to understand some, if not all of the question(s). In this quiz the question was also printed on the screen, in Welsh. I know it’s not specific but we all like a quiz…don’t we?
There’s a quiz at the moment called Pen/campwyr (it’s sports-themed, but as far as I remember the questions are more general than that), which is presented by Jason Mohammed, who himself is a former Welsh learner. Clic
Would love to see more in the way of quizzes, and I hope we can develop that in the future.
I loved the Elis James Nabod y Teip series when I caught it a couple of years ago. Wish he’d film another! I can give him a list of suggestions : )
Also enjoyed Tywysogion about the Welsh princes – talking heads included the late Dr John Davies. That pops up fairly regularly on Clic, though it’s not there now.
Tŷ am ddim (buy a wrecked house at auction, do it up and flog it) can be great, but I sometimes find the broken Wenglish spoken in dull snippets by the participants a bit off-putting. “Chwarae teg iddo, at the end of the day, he did the job.” etc. I wish the producers/directors could manage to coax a slightly more articulate/interesting/different response out of them sometimes. Not fair since the participants are often young and not used to being on TV and possibly very stressed and tired.
Still. It must be okay to prod them with a toasting fork just a little from time to time and very gently to see if they come out with anything unexpected.
Thanks for the tip about Tywysogion - I’ll keep my eyes out for that. Another one that comes back fairly regularly (but I think has just dropped off for now) is Mamwlad, with Ffion Hague telling the stories of prominent women from Welsh history. We’ve got some recent history up as well, with Terfysg yn y Bae presented by Sean Fletcher (who has learned Welsh himself) about the Cardiff race riots - it’s on my “to watch” list: Clic
If you haven’t caught it yet, you might enjoy Prosiect Pum Mil - presenters Trystan and Emma have £5000 to spend to help a community project (e.g. here the Theatr Fach in Llangefni: Clic)
As far as the “dull snippets” are concerned, I think you’ll find that’s pretty common to all programmes of that genre whatever the language. Sometimes I think that I’ll scream if I hear another person talk about their “rollercoaster” experience. But it’s not about me - other people really like the comfort of the familiar language patterns, and they deserve to be catered for as much as I do.
Oh yes. just saying that if there was an alternative version of Tŷ am Ddim where the participants had to wear evening dress, take design advice from Laurence Llywelyn Bowen (he can learn the language) and with one week to go, the assistant director would give the order to release the squirrels, I would be happy. I’m not highbrow, just easily bored.
On the bright side, the latest episode appears to be from Swansea. The glamour and excitement will all follow naturally.
BTW, thank you for recommending Prosiect Pum Mil. The theatre episode especially sounds up my street.
Just watched ‘Ein Hail Lais’ on S4C which is about the challenges of speaking ‘imperfect’ Welsh as a second language. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who feels they’re in that situation.
Latest episode of Tŷ am Ddim (two guys renovating a property in The Grove near Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea) was brutal at the end. Poor Dafydd the estate agent. Note to self: never ask for more drama again!*
(That’s just reminded me… My partner is a film/TV editor, and sometimes takes our dog to work. One day she sent me a picture of the dog sat at the desk, so it’s a running joke now that if Pip goes to work, whatever the programme is will end up with subliminal shots of squirrels in them - so perhaps you have been watching squirrels and not realised it!! )
Most S4C programmes are available for 150 days on Clic/iPlayer after broadcast, but maybe @sara-peacock-1 can confirm if that’s the case with this too.
Excellent new newsletter, with plenty of interesting things coming up during November we shall look out for. I’ve just enjoyed watching several news stories with subtitles (which is a great enhancement) & watched the weather a couple of times (I was never able to do that on S4C Clic, as it seemed to only be available live & not on catch-up). And the vocab / tips are great, without being overwhelming. So really useful for dysgu - Diolch o galon!
