I always travel from platform 9 3/4 at Aber station. 
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Iād add to that the value for tourism. For lots of travellers, having a go at a new language, even with just a basic phrasebook, is one of the key pleasures of the holiday. The more people willing to speak to tourists in Welsh, the more eager visitors!
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I feel there is a lot of focus on teaching children in Welsh (which, of course, is vital) but it is also essential that people can actually use Welsh in their day to day lives. The language needs to be heard!
I think it should be compulsory for all businesses in Wales to get their Welsh speaking staff to wear the Cymraeg logo. Either with a pin, on a lanyard or as part of the uniform (as they do at Ysbyty Gwynedd).
It would be such a small, easy change but it would make such a massive difference. Straight away, we would all know that weāre welcome to speak Welsh!
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This is part of the All Wales uniform.
Since beginning to learn Welsh I have realised what fantastic resources there are for learning the language. Not just SSIW but TV and radio shows geared to learners, websites, etc. With most languages that one can learn, itās usual to end up with the impression that as a learner you are in a small minority of speakers of that language, where the vast majority are fluent speakers who donāt care that much whether or not you learn their language. With Welsh, it feels like learners are a huge part of the community of Welsh speakers, and that also by learning the language we are part of what will come to be viewed as an important part of history: the return of Welsh to the main language in Wales.
I wonder whether these aspects of learning Welsh could be promoted to people thinking of learning a second language. With all the current efforts to get people learning Welsh, itās a great time to be a learner in order to benefit from the great resources and support on offer, and to feel as if oneās efforts are valued and appreciated by those who are fighting to promote the language.
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DiolchI donāt know whether you are familiar with Think Without Limits: you CAN speak Welsh by Lynda Pritchard Newcombe? It is an excellent overview of the problems learners have in actually going out into the community and using the Welsh they have learned. One of the (many) problems she mentions is the native Welsh speakerās fear of talking with learners. There are several reasons for this, but one issue that needs addressing is the native speakerās lack of confidence in their own language. They are not only terrified that the learner will ask them about treigladau, but I have seen advanced learners criticise the vocabulary of native speakers and their use of colloquial Welsh ā and this was to their faces! This is not going to encourage native speakers to engage with learners!
Iām not saying that all native speakers should become Welsh tutors, but courses or materials to help support those native speakers who are willing to talk with learners would be one positive step.
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This is a very good point. There needs to be some way of overcoming this fear where it exists, and also supporting native Welsh speakers to encourage them to speak to learners.
Speaking to learners can be quite daunting. I think about this when I am speaking to other learners who are just starting out: what do they know/understand; should I avoid using the short form; should I correct anything; if I use a word they look confused by, should I tell them what it is in English or try to explain it in Welsh or mime it, etc, etc. With SSiWers itās much easier - the sentence structures have been built and itās a matter of slotting some extra words in. So I just go with saying whatever comes out first (including loads of mistakes) and if it doesnāt work, find a different way of saying the same thing. However, with people whoāve done the traditional classroom course, the conversation always seems to go, āWhere do you live?ā, āWhere do you come from originally?ā and talk about the weather.
I have been in conversation classes where Welsh speakers have come in (in pairs!) and they are provided with a list of questions on a topic by the tutor to discuss with groups of learners (who have practised some of these beforehand). This has helped to an extent, but it results in a bit of a stilted conversation thatās not very natural.
At the Cymdeithas yr Iaith one-day conference recently, there was a presentation about the Cylch Teifi monthly walks. These are usually two thirds Welsh speakers, one third learners. Everyone is encouraged to mix (learners arenāt left to chat with each other) and the speakers do not turn back to English. I have been on one of those and it certainly seems to work.
Of course the place where everyone talks ānaturallyā, with whatever Welsh they have, is Bootcamp. Iestyn doesnāt give the impression that heās speaking any differently than he would normally, but then he is used to talking to children! 
Do you change the Welsh you use @Iestyn? Could you put a package together on how to hold conversations with learners?
The issue of native speakers lack of confidence comes up quite a lot. One of my neighbours tends to speak to me in English and says her Welsh āisnāt good enoughā, because in the past she has been corrected by her daughter who is a teacher. My other neighbours speak to me in Welsh, but they have commented that I use Welsh words for some things where normally they would slot in an W/English one, so even that can be off-putting.
Finally, one tutor told me that they donāt like teaching very advanced groups of learners because the class spends their time trying to ācatch the tutor outā! Learners need to be taught how to speak to native speakers too!
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Oh dear, oh dear! would anyone ever consider correcting a French personās French? If only we could gather all Welsh speakers and tell them we are very grateful for their help and patience and croeso caredig! And warn all teachers that correcting someoneās native language is hardly polite and is very presumptuous, so,please tell learners to refrain from so doing! I could cry wth frustration! 
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Iām trying to build on a couple of comments already made in this thread and the āProblemsā post. Iāve not read the three āHow toā ones yet, so I may be repeating suggstions made there.
My first impressions/responses are based on this quote (sorry, Iāve lost track of who wrote it in the āProblemsā thread, I think it might have been Kate):
āI agree too but I think we could be in danger of getting a bit circular, if the problem is that those who speak Welsh already donāt use it, and thatās the reason more people donāt learn, and the reason they donāt use it is because not enough people have learned it ā¦ā
So, as I see it:
- the everyday use of the language needs to become more visible in general.
- there ought to be less of a āthis is for learnersā and āthis is for native speakersā divide. Not only can this split build on the existing inferiority complexes / angst of both groups, I feel that sometimes it reinforces the impression that the language is a nice-to-have add-on and that it is more of a stick than a carrot approach (also also discussed before). The attitude āYouāre not a learner, youāre either a speaker or notā ought to prevail. Just because you are not a native of that country does not mean you canāt be a speaker of its language. (I donāt think Iām expressing this too well, but I hope all readers understand what Iām trying to get at here).
This means there needs to be more events available in Welsh in general, which are simply promoted as events for people interested in XYZ topic. The more of these events there are, the more people will realise how many things are conducted in the language, even if they donāt speak it yet. The non-speakers might be encouraged to learn, and those who speak it (of all levels) will be encouraged to participate.
How I think we can do this:
- if individual SSiWers try to organise and promote something in their area based on one of their own hobbies (a one-off event, or a regular group - e.g. a guided walk, a book club (even if it is to read Blodwen Jones to start with), a young farmersā meeting) that doesnāt specifically revolve around learning Welsh, but happends to be conducted through the medium of Welsh, this would raise numbers. You wouldnāt necessarily have to lead the event, but could find someone in your community who would be willing to, e.g. a Welsh-speaking yoga instructor.
- on a larger scale, how about trying to organise (or even lobby for the Welsh Government to organise) a regional brochure, directory, display in the local community centre/library/village noticeboard or something that lists all of the local events/groups, etc. This would let people know what really is out there, and elminiate the āthereās nothing in my area in Welshā excuse.
Finally, as someone who is obsessed with languages and language learning (Welsh is my 3rd foreign language I can speak at an intermediate level and 5th language in total), I think another major problem is overcoming the mono-lingual personās attitude towards language learning. Whenever you read a ābucket listā, one of the top few items is ālearn a foreign languageā. Many people start every year as part of their NY resolutions, but very few succeed. This is because:
- most people assume they need to be taught adn donāt do anything to help themselves outside lessons
- very few people really know how to learn
We need to find some way of showing people how to learn languages effectively on their own and not how to learn Welsh specifically. If there were courses that enticed people to attend āunder the guiseā of learning a language, with examples of resources using German/Spanish/French/Italian/Russian/Chinese/Welsh, etc. this would give people the motivation and once again would be a way of placing Welsh along with the āmainstreamā languages, rather than placing a specific emphasis on it, which plays on the split/divide I mentioned above. (I recall someone in the Problems thread also mentioning the attitude of friends regarding the learning of Italian/French and Welsh).
I hope some of this mini-thesis helps in some way!
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Great input, Karen, diolch yn fawr iawn! Iāll make sure I transfer what I can from there to the Trello board over the next few daysā¦
I think SSIW is an incredible resource and I am amazed at the foundation that it gave me. I wonder what it would take to make SSIW an (almost) household app like duolingo (which didnāt help me that much tbh). Perhaps leaving leaflets or notices in bars, cafes, pubs etc?
Whenever asked how I started learning, I always write down this site on a piece of paper and tell them to give it a go- thats how I first started!
Maybe a bit of publicity perhaps? Has anything ever been done with BBC Wales or BBC Radio Wales?
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They tend to be a bit defensive, because they would rather promote their own in-house coursesā¦
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Some places to discuss in Welsh online would be nice - some of the many discord servers are a good start, but it would be nicer if they were more active. Similarly, some kind of Welsh forum where you can take the time to think out your response/understanding whatās been written would be really useful (and I canāt find any active forums like that anywhere, bar a few threads here!). Would be a great way to be able to improve your vocabulary and aspects of the language youāre too uncomfortable to use in spoken conversation.
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There was (is) a site called maes-e at https://maes-e.com/
But it appears that in recent years the activity there is very low. I have no idea where all the users went. There must, surely, be quite a lot of Welsh speakers (whether First Language, or having learned), who want to talk about Life, The Universe and Everything on the Web.
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SSiW does get mentioned on a fairly regular basis on the BBC, mainly by members of this forum. As Aran suggested, there is a limit to how hard that this can be pushed. However, this is a two-way street and SSiW are good enough to recommend Radio Cymru and S4C.
There are a number of Facebook and Twitter accounts that are open to comments about SSiW and the like.
A simple internet search, such as āLearn Welshā will bring up some SSiW stuff either directly or within the text of the search results. Thatās how I got here.
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Facebookā¦ 
So, Iām very very late to this, but my excuse is that until 5 months ago, I knew two things about Wales:
- Itās geographical location within the UK (Iām born, raised and live in the United States and some of us are geographically challenged, so itās actually a bit of a big deal to know where things are https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRh1zXFKC_o )
- Doctor Who is filmed in Cardiff
Yup, thatās all I knew about Wales. A lot has changed since February when my Wife and I did DNA testing through 23AndMe and I found out I am 69.5% Welsh. My last name is Jones and my Father, Grandfather and Great Grandfather were all miners in the United States. Not a surprise that I have Welsh ancestry, but the percentage was shocking. America is not old enough for people to claim āAmerican Ancestryā yet, so we look to other countries for heritage to say, āIāmā¦ .ā Consequently, I wanted to learn about my Welsh ancesty and figured the best way was to learn the language. Thatās how I found SSiW, the forum and Aranās question regarding how SSiW can help meet the 2050 million speaker challenge. Knowing nothing about this, being a helpful person and wanting to give something back, I began educating myself on Welsh culture and history. Iāve been listening to amazing cerddoriaeth Cymry (Meic Stevens, Calan, Candelas, Adwaith, and YWS Gwynedd) and songs like Yma o Hyd, watching videos with Tudur Owens https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06bfnf9, The Welsh Knot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0bgSbJUBG0 and the BBC series on The History of Wales. I read Aranās book Some Sex and a Hill. Aranās passion for the language encouraged me to want to know more about the culture and to make a difference. Another instrumental book for me was Why Wales Never was, the Failure of Welsh Nationalism by Simon Brooks, which outstandingly illustrates how the majority of Cymru voluntarily gave up their language in the mid 1800ās and early 1900ās and how those same forces continue to minimize and isolate the language today. The book is academic, thoroughly researched and it answered several questions I had as an outsider not knowing hanes Cymru. While learning the language, culture and history of Cymru, I noticed a change in me that I had not anticipated. I want Cymraeg to flourish and Saesneg to be the secondary language of Cymru! Since I live in the United States and cannot directly act, this is my first attempt to push the needle towards Cymraeg first.
This is long and if you donāt want wish to wade through 2,142 words, (I donāt blame you, I wouldnāt either) hereās TL:DR (Too long: didnāt read) version
ā¢ Learning any language is a personal choice. I can force someone to take language classes and she can pass all exams and not learn the language. The person has to want to learn.
ā¢ You can only effect permanent change in yourself and at best encourage/influence others.
ā¢ Promoting Cymraeg in your everyday life will create personal change and give a positive association of Cymraeg to those around you.
ā¢ What everyday things can you do to promote Cymraeg? Everyday things are buying services from shops with siradwr o Gymraeg. Do you order your coffee in Cymraeg? Buying music and books from Welsh singers and authors and greeting non-Cymraeg speaking co-workers/friends and family with your Cymraeg promotes the language. Use your Cymraeg adjectives instead of English.
ā¢ Doing everyday activities with like minded Cymraeg supporters is a force multiplier.
ā¢ Join groups that promote Cymraeg - Cymdeithas yr Iaith https://cymdeithas.cymru/join
ā¢ Keep the focus to any solution on what you can physically do and change will happen.
Reading the Welsh governmentās plan, http://www.assembly.wales/laid%20documents/gen-ld11108/gen-ld11108-e.pdf, they have identified three areas of focus to achieve the million speaker goal:
- Increasing the number of Welsh speakers
- Increasing the use of Welsh
- Creating favourable conditions ā infrastructure and context
Iāve read nearly all the posts in the SSiW 2050 project and the Trello board, and all the ideas suggested fall into one of the three above categories. However, I noticed something interesting, nearly all of them had an external locus of control, meaning, the solution required someone else to do something. An example would be a coffee shop offering lower prices for ordering in Cymraeg. A grand idea, but how many SSiW members could actually perform that action? Itās easy to identify issues and solutions but when the solution(s) require anotherās voluntary/involuntary participation movement towards resolution can slow down and even stop. I think this explains why there have not been many recents posts to this section of the forum. The question becomes, āHow does someone make societal or institutional changes outside of oneās control?ā How does one take an idea and turn it into a movement that persists? I suggest watching this three minute TED talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement#t-109326 If you watched the video, I can hear the limiting question already in your head, āThat random dude got people to do something useless at an outdoor concert.ā Exactly, if he could get hundreds of people to dance, imagine the potential for action about something that really matters?
Learning any language is a personal choice. I can force someone to take language classes and she can pass all exams but not learn the language. The person has to want to learn. It seems obvious, but this fact is frequently forgotten. All SSiW members have chosen to learn Cymraeg. You are motivated and you want your passion for Yr Hen Iaith to flow to others. This is natural. This is the motivation to change an external locus of control to an internal control. So I ask, What can you do every day to promote Cymraeg?
If you live in Cymru, do you frequent stores that speak Cymraeg? If not, how come? Can you switch to another store providing the same service?
Do your politicians speak or at least support Cymraeg? If not, are you supporting those that do?
Do you greet your non-Cymraeg speaking friends/co-workers with Sāmae/Bore da/Tiān iawn?
When something exciting happens do you use your Cymraeg adjectives? Da iawn! Dyna cyffrous!
Do you buy books written in Cymraeg?
Do you buy songs by bandiau Cymreig?
Can you attend Eisteddfod?
Can you support groups that promote the language like Cymdeithas yr Iaith https://cymdeithas.cymru/join?
From reading the forum many of you are already do things everyday that support Cymraeg. Da iawn ti! Keep doing it. These actions make a difference everyday. It may be small, but collectively, it adds up. What everyday things do you do in English that can be done in Cymraeg? Does your bank speak Cymraeg? Can you switch to one that does? Can you use Helo instead of Hello? Making a conscientious effort, no matter how small, to switch from a Saesneg to Cymraeg perspective will create change, not only in you, but those you come in contact with. You will be exposing others to Cymraeg and if those people like you, they will develop a positive attitude about the language. If they like you, and you support the language, then their opinion of Cymraeg will tend to be positive, as well.
Whatever those everyday things are, if you can, do it with other people. We all need food and clothing and buying from a store that speaks Cymraeg supports the language. Now imagine a group of 20+ gathering at a store that does not have any Cymraeg speaking employees. The entire group walks to a nearby store holding signs saying, āI shop where I can speak Welshā¦Dwiān siopa ble dwiān gallu siarad Cymraeg.ā Individually, each person buys something, but collectively, that group made a statement. How much buying power does that group represent? Do that weekly and after 3 or 4 weeks, newspapers, radio programs, S4Cā¦etc will interview the group. This is worthy news. Other stores that have employees who speak Cymraeg will approach the group asking them to shop at their stores. A group of 20+ having lunch at a restaurant where they can speak Cymraeg totally changes that storeās income for the day! Do you think other similar thinking people in other towns will do the same thing? Absolutely! Now watch the three minute TED talk again and tell me one person cannot make lasting societal change. https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement#t-109326
There are many different things anyone of us can do. Start a website that tracks which stores have employees that speak Cymraeg. I think Nick did this. Even better, monetize it. Have those companies pay you to advertise for them. Each shop gets a window display sign saying, āWelsh spoken here,ā encouraging those that support the language to spend their Pounds in support of Cymraeg. Do everyday items in grocery stores have labels in Cymraeg? If not, do you think you would buy a product that you need with a Cymraeg label over a similar product that is all English? I suspect there is an SSiW member who has a connection or knows someone who has a connection to a manufacturer or distributor who could be open to changing the labels. If a manufacturer can increase sales for minimal cost, they will do it. A lot of products sold in the United States include labels in Spanish and French. I donāt believe those companies are losing money by adding languages to the label. Iāve read many businesses offer Cymraeg classes but they are during work hours and many people cannot take advantage. How about a work sponsored meeting either before or after hours? You donāt have to be fluent to teach the language. Iāve completed the first level and am working on the old level. Clearly, I am far from fluent but I can teach absolute beginners what I know. What everyday behaviors do you do that promote Gymraeg? Right now, if you can, stop reading this and do something that promotes Cymraeg! If you cannot, then set a reminder in your phone. Set the reminder now. Do it! Gwnewch hynny, nawr! Keep the focus to any solution to what you can physically do and change will happen. If you can join/create a group of similar minded people, the impact is multiplied.
What can SSiW do to help? Which is the question Aran asked. After much thought, I have two suggestions. SSiW already offers many different options to learn Cymraeg. But, how about offering initial exposure to the language at a ridiculous price point of Ā£10 per individual or Ā£5 per person for a group of 2 or more. If I wanted to bring my family, spending Ā£15 is nothing but Ā£30, I would think about whether if the benefit is worth the cost. The idea is to offer a group experience on a practical everyday activity, like buying food and drink. From my experience, ordering food in a new language is not complicated. For example, SSiW offers a 1 hour Welsh food/drink ordering class at a coffee shop. The first 10-15 minutes is spent in English explaining how the class will run. The next 40 minutes is learning how to order food and drink and practicing amongst each other. The last 5 minutes winds the class down and immediately afterwards, each person can order food/drink from the coffee shop in Welsh. Maybe even receiving a discount. The immediate benefit is exposure to the language, learning language acquisition is not overly challenging and immediate reinforcement of the language after the class. All this for Ā£5-Ā£10 per person! The other, not so obvious, benefit is those taking the class will speak to their friends/family/co-workers about the positive experience with Cymraeg. Increasing the number of speakers is exposure and having a positive association with the language benefits all siradwr o Gymraeg. How is this not a win/win for everyone?
Each learner would receive a sheet of paper containing the appropriate Welsh phrases with anglicized pronunciations, and a link to a SSiW webpage to bookmark for reference. Itās likely the piece of paper will be lost or forgotten but cellphones are always nearby. Who would signup for this course? Tourists, those who have been wanting to learn but for whatever reason cannot commit or simply people who are curious. Lastly, at this low of a price point, it is not financially feasible, but the Welsh government should be able to subsidize the cost. From what I have read, the government has set aside funds for the private sector to promote the language.
All of these ideas promote all three focal areas of the 2050 Welsh speaker plan.
- Increasing the number of Welsh speakers
- Increasing the use of Welsh
- Creating favourable conditions ā infrastructure and context
The key is creating change is keep the focus on what you can personally do every day. Do this, and suddenly all the barriers to success will disappear and youāll realize they werenāt barriers at all, but merely challenges. Thatās all I have to say.
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Lovely to see this kind of passion!.. 
I really like the āfirst lesson in a coffee shopā idea. Iām going to put that on my āthink about how to implement itā listā¦
Weāve got some other stuff rolling towards launch as part of what I see as our main drive to contribute to the Million Speakers aimā¦ more soonā¦
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