I’ve read here that some folk learn better by doing something else at the same time as going through the lessons, and I recall that being suggested as a good strategy by Aran or Iestyn—both to ‘make time’ as well as avoid anxiety or perfectionism while learning.
Like many here, I have tackled lessons a variety of ways: glued to my favourite comfy chair with a nice view—concentrating like crazy; wandering in the woods with my MP3 player—talking to the trees, the squirrels and birds, even the osccasional startled runner; while cooking, knitting and painting—just saying the first thing that came into my head without a spare hand to press the pause button. I would never try while driving because you need your wits about you driving in Vancouver—at least I do.
Then I came across an old thread here where someone said they tended to lose concentration or start to feel bored about 15 minutes into a lesson unless they did something else at the same time—crafting. They wondered if they should post what they had crafted. What a great idea! Why not?
Always assuming I can figure out how to add a photo here, I will now try to post a watercolour I did while SSiW was batting around those little grey cells. The combo’ was perfect—doing something relaxing with my hands and eyes while letting sounds just happen…
So bring on those projects friends—let’s see your woodwork, crochet, fancy cakes, eisteddfod entries… We could even revive or start some specifically Welsh crafts… just saying.
How lovely! Personally, I usually do both lessons and listening practice whilst doing housework, making sure that I get enough housework done to cover the material.
@MarilynHames That’s really beautiful! You are a woman of many talents! I usually don’t do anything else while I do a lesson, just focus on the lesson. Like you, I need to concentrate while driving. I’ve never tried knitting while doing a lesson, but now I think I will have to try!
Oh, that is brilliant—talk about making someone else happy while you happlily continue learning Welsh. Does your wife have a cuppa’ ready for you afterwards as a double reward?
Must tell my husband,… although that might give him ideas and cut into my painting time… feeling torn.
I’ve never been someone that can just sit and listen to something or watch a TV programme. I always have to be doing something else at the same time, so I tend to listen to the news while I cook, watch Pobol y Cwm while I eat breakfast, and do other language learning while I do my ironing. Nothing very creative, I’m afraid, but it lets me pack double the activities into my day
A picture of a pile of nicely-ironed, freshly-folded laundry could surely be a real marketing tool for SSiW–or maybe a plate of delicious Welsh Cakes??? Just think of all those happier homes it could make.
It seems that building learning into daily life is the way to go–and for me, whenever I get the chance that means picking up a paint-brush, no matter whether it is to decorate a room, touch up some blistered paintwork outside, or attack more something more original on paper.
Some here will know that I am deaf from my original posts for tackling SSiW for the hard-of-hearing when I first started 2-3 years ago. It is a bit of a hurdle, not being able to hear–or was even more so before recent advances in technology overtook my hearing loss and is able to compensate much better than it did 25 years ago.
For most of my life I have enjoyed painting, but after surgery that went wrong and I was left deaf, I started to live in a visual world so drew and painted more. In an odd way it also sharpened my mind which over time meant I picked up other skills. SSiW was perhaps the final hurdle, because it meant ‘tuning in’ to sounds I only had a vague memory of and finding wonderful folk on this forum who had the patience to describe the sounds I was ‘hearing’–or imagined. This has been one amazing journey and through it I have gained the confidence to communicate better in English too–so all that to say that SSiW has enriched my life beyond anything I could have believed possible. These days, strangers don’t even realize I am stone deaf on one side and profoundly deaf on the other–more to the point, I no longer feel like that either.
But I will continue to paint–and ‘listen’ to SSiW too
Thank you Siaron, you will see from my response to Dee that I find painting in any form is fun and relaxing, but now I must experiment with answering more than one person at once since I received a gentle nudge to do that. Please pardon me while I experiment… I have seen it done, but now how to discover how to thank Alan and Anna too…
Yes, thank you Alan, but you should see me with a roller and a room to spruce up… I am a dab hand at that [quote=“AnnaC, post:6, topic:13561”]
I usually don’t do anything else while I do a lesson, just focus on the lesson
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I can appreciate that–a lot depends on my mood and energy level, and what I am doing. Knitting and painting are second nature to me, so if anything they stop me fidgeting and help me concentrate.
I was running so late, having needed to initiate the app etc, I didn’t have time to choose an object, so reached for the first thing that came to hand. This was the painting I held up to the camera—I had just finished it as a surprise 70th birthday present for the bloke in the garden:
Yes, well-spotted—a little furry cameo appearance from Tugger, but can you find the bird he feeds and guess what his wife is doing, in fact what she is always doing—poofing-up cushions
I’ve been a crafter all my life, but am totally unable to do anything crafty while trying to learn a language. I’ve tried. All that happens is that the crafting gets done but haven’t a clue what was in the lesson I was supposed to be listening to/doing.
I can’t concentrate on 2 things at once. I’ve always needed to pause language lessons to give me thinking time, as the gaps in lessons aren’t long enough for me to work out the translation, never mind say it as well! I’m wildly jealous of anyone who can do housework, or anything else, at the same time as learning Welsh!
I know what you mean—I cannot drive and do something else, it takes my full concentration to negotiate Vancouver traffic. And to be fair, when I started going through the SSiW lessons 2-3 years ago, the pause button was my greatest friend—that and a notebook so I could jot down the time of places I wanted to listen to again, or sounds I wanted to ask someone on the Forum to clarify for me.
So this is not my first time through, but by going over it all again with all the great new material and resources, plus hearing aids with the necessary bells and whistles, I rarely use the pause button, so can be both hands free and more relaxed about learning and doing something else that is second nature to me—painting in my case. However, if I hit a problem in a painting, something I need to work out or around, then I have to make the choice, and typically finish the lesson first.
I take my hat off to anyone who can multi-task or grasp a language quickly, but I know myself, as you do too—this is not a competiition, everyone is different and can enjoy learning Welsh in different ways. I wish I had known that 50 years ago, so could have been kinder on myself then and enjoyed life more
Wow @MarilynHames. That is brilliant. Your story is also inspirational. You are one talented lady. If I do anything while listening to SSiW it has to be something that can be done with limited thought. Weeding the garden is OK as is a walk. Although I am a fairly accomplished knitter I end up losing the pattern if I try and concentrate on anything else.
I am so envious, because that is a real heirloom, and I have lusted after one ever since I saw a handmade quilt in one of the cottages at the Welsh Folk Museum.
You must have incredible patience and a real eye for design, so how to arrange the 100s of fabric pieces to create the beautiful overall effect. I can see you would not want to get that wrong, but Am glad there are sections you can do while joining in on SSiW.
You are keeping both a traditional skill and language alive—well done, and thank you for showing us that. What an inspiration!
So you must have a lovely garden—especially if you can weed and do SSiW at the same time. As for following knitting patterns—yes, that demands real concentration so I can well believe you cannot be distracted. Do you have any photos of finished articles?
I just knit 6-inch squares while SSiWing, then we sew them together into blankets for ‘rough sleepers’ who cannot find shelter in the colder weather. The squares are a perfect, being very repetitive. I learnt this at school in the 50s when I lived in Splott, so brought the tradition here where it seems to have caught on. A few years ago we made 57 blankets in 3 months so that all the street people moving into a new social housing unit had something unique to call their own. We never bought any wool—once the word got out it just kept coming, as did the squares from all across Canada. Before we bundled them up for delivery the lovely, colourful blankets covered an entire gym floor.
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