To add to my reply above I should expand to give the true full picture. After seeing the video of the first guinypigs I realised that I was not a complete beginner. In fact over a period I had done SSIW course one and two. Then course one and two of the second course, the one called challenges. So I was a long way down the learning line. Also I am retired and live alone so time is not a problem.
I had also done some evening classes for a few years but was not happy with that method of learning.
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Sorry just seen this! Not sure what you need from me??? More esponio?
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Nope, just a little ācomes from, lives in, doesā kind of overviewā¦ 
Do you need bios from all the respondents to this thread or only from the people you have specifically asked?
(If you donāt need mine, donāt worry - a few months of therapy will help me get over it 
)
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For now, weāre doubled up on all the points I needed - you swanned through everything a bit too easilyā¦
But youāre up my sleeve (in a manner of speaking!) as a fine example of a grammar-loving SSiWerā¦ if I need to play that card, Iāll be waving for your bioā¦
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A SSIW group in a local pub or two was a big confidence builder. It also helped with the motivation - if you turned up and everyone elseās Welsh was whizzing along improving as they went through the lessons and you were plateauing you were that much more likely to crack on with the next few sessions!
Attending the TÅ· Tawe sessions was a bigger/harder/more intimidating step because the level of Welsh you might encounter was far wider. I didnāt limit myself to learner events just picked anything that looked interesting enough. There is a siop siarad coffee morning there each week as well which I attended intermittently and now help dish up coffee for on the volunteer rota. I feel very comfortable at TÅ· Tawe now - like a regular! Itās hugely helpful having that natural focus point for somewhere to go and speak Welsh.
The SSIW group was definitely emotionally easier to go along to at first though - probably because of the forum - it takes away some of the āI donāt know anybodyā bit of the emotional challenge, leaving just the language one.
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I come from Canada originally but have lived in England and Wales for 40 years. First started to dysgu Cymraeg in 1972 when cooped up in remote Welsh cottage with 3 Welsh friends who told me in a friendly way that they werenāt going to be speaking much English. Could get by after a few months - a bit - but then left the area and didnāt come back until 3 years ago.
I live in Norfolk but spend half my time in Talsarnau. I didnāt want to be a non-Welsh speaking Saesnes so have been using SSIW, Duolingo, courses at Nant, reading and lots of other means to learn. Mostly doing half an hour of some form of Welsh every day. I no longer worry about speaking dodgy Welsh to my neighbours or in the pub and local shops. Bootcamp cured me of that!
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Oh, how interesting! You see, asking for stuff like this always digs out a few extra interesting detailsā¦
Coming in late because Iāve only recently started using SSiW successfully. Iām not a typical SSiW learner so I wonāt answer most of the questions, but I thought Iād mention a couple of things.
This is my third attempt to use SSiW and though I had been learning Welsh on and off for years via a variety of courses, the previous two attempts at SSiW were total failures and I bounced off the course hard. I think the first time I tried it was when it was quite new and, after seeing how successful a friend had been using SSiW, I tried again a couple of years ago but still failed with it badly.
I am a visual learner with an atrocious working memory. I did the working memory test you linked to and was only moderately poor on that, but that was a visual test and it is my aural memory that is exceedingly feeble. By the time you have reached the end of a long sentence in English, I usually couldnāt repeat it in English, so there was no chance of me saying it in Welsh! A course that had no written material and which was totally aural was not suitable for me.
But a few things have changed. Firstly I had come across the concept of shadowing and so decided to try beginning my response in Welsh as soon as you had said the first part of the sentence. I therefore speak over the English yet somehow manage to hear at the same time as I am speaking. I donāt know whether itās worth mentioning this technique which would enable others with poor working memories like me to use the course successfully?
The other thing that has changed is that the Levels now have a transcript of the new words and phrases and some example sentences. This reassures me that I am hearing and remembering the words correctly. I do look at it before listening to the lesson, which I know you say we shouldnāt, but having seen the words helps reinforce what Iām hearing. Some years ago I did the Cwrs Llanllawen which specifically includes developing good pronunciation and learning to read Welsh out loud correctly. Reading the Welsh words on the page really helps me and is not a hindrance. Though I admit that some people do try to read Welsh as though itās English and thus mangle the pronunciation horribly!
Anyway, Iām now happily going through the challenges at the rate of 1 per day with occasional repeats if a session goes badly. Iāve reached the end of Level 1 and just subscribed so I can continue to Level 2 this week. Whether I could have learned Welsh from scratch with SSiW, I honestly donāt know. (Iām tempted to try the Spanish sometime as an experiment, but I donāt have the brain capacity to do it now.) However, SSiW is proving brilliant for revision and for helping me get the stuff I already know up there at the front of my brain. Itās as though itās now on handy shelves convenient for immediate use instead of being locked away somewhere at the back of my mind in a filing cabinet where it takes ages to retrieve.
I fully understand that Iām probably an outlier on the learner spectrum, but Iām probably not unique and if you could help even a few more predominantly visual learners use your course successfully, then it would be a benefit.
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That sounds like a very good idea, and thank you very much for flagging it upā¦
Iām delighted to hear that youāve found a way to benefit from our stuff, and very impressed that you had the determination to try again after your previously unsuccessful attemptsā¦
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Works for me, too ā itās also nice to know that one can come out with 'Nes i cyfarfod rhywun yn y dafarn neithiwr (or similar) entirely unconsciously, whilst simultaneously concentrating on something else in English. Itās like being an interpreter ā so long as one only interprets for Welsh speakers who visit pubs frequently. I expect there are worse thingsā¦
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Just like you, I amā¦or I thought I was a predominantly visual learner. I rely heavily on lip reading, perception, facial expressions and body language to read and understand people. When I did the very first Challenge of SSiW, I felt completely lost, every word I nothing but heard seemed to immediately disappear into nothingness. I just found it strange that listening to audio books doesnāt cause me any problems at all. The spoken words transform into pictures and emotions so easily in my mind, and I started to wonder why I can enjoy audio books but have such difficulties with auditive learning.
I havenāt yet figured it out completely, but I suspect it is a question of trustā¦trust in my ability to understand and process spoken language fast and accurate enough, without any help from pictures or written words. When I have a text in front of me, I can consult it over and over again a thousand times and I feel I donāt have to relay so much on my own memory. In a way I feel that spoken words (the same applies to the signs of sign language) get to me in a much more direct and unfiltered wayā¦and most probably I doubt my ability to learn things given to me this way.
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In German there is an expression that goes ābei sich selbst bleibenā. It means many things and Iād translate it with āto concentrate on your own abilities, on your inner worldā¦to trust yourselfā¦not to seek distraction or compare yourself with othersā¦stay centeredā. Maybe auditive learning requires more of this relying on your very own facultiesā¦?
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Or, maybe, as Polonius says to his son, Laertes, in Hamlet:
āthis above all, to thine own self be trueā ?
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Oh, yes, thatās beautiful! Itās fascinating how great, wise and creative people like William Shakespeare need but a few words to express so much! 
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Hi Aran,
Iām really sorry I just saw your message. My background:
Iām came to Canada 9 years ago from Colombia, this means I learned English and French since my native Language is Spanish. I learned English with a method called knowledge of English where the student follows a text book and the audio before the class. In the class the student and the teacher go through the vocabulary and then add the vocabulary to the structures Who, What, When, Where etc. My approach was different because I became friend with the teacher and after class we used to go for a coffee, shopping, play table tennis or even spend time with other teachers which put me in the spot light and force me to speak.
When I started to study French 2 years before immigrating to Canada, I paid lessons at the Alliance Francaise and I got really frustrated with the method which was based on writing and memorizing things. I then went back to my old experience and hired the teacher to talk to me. Then later I started to play only French Music in my car and tried to follow the lyrics without seen them before. I developed a lot of vocabulary that helped me later when I finally landed in Montreal. I also watched a lot of TV from Quebec which gave me a perspective of the sounds and slangs of the place.
With Welsh Iām using the same method. I have to drive 1 hour daily to work, so I plug my phone to the audio of my car and press play for the lesson that I choose to do, because I create a play list with at least 5 lessons I practice the one that I plan but randomly the phone select the next one and I cannot pause or repeat or jump to another lesson, so I get expose to new concepts which challenge my brain even more. I found that because Iām aware that I cannot change anything I have to flow with the rhythm of the lessons and I just relax myself and just drive my car while my subconscious mind does the work for me. I enter in a zone and the words flow freely and even if I make mistakes the majority of the times my answers come quick and I have time to listen and repeat more times which puts more emphasis in what Iām learning or structures that are already part of me.
When something is completely new and I donāt understand it, I just have to continue because I have no chance to do anything else but the next time I hear it Iām able to say it āmysteriouslyā. Now Iām also started to dream in Welsh which is a sign that the language has a spot and my brain now, like English, Spanish and French.
Also, something that is fascinating for me is that the sounds represents colors and images in my mind. So, when I donāt remember something I just look for the association and then the word becomes alive.
Finally Iām an Engineer who works in Supply Chain, so my mind is not very creative and follows structures and methods, very rigid indeed but with languages I help my mind to structure ideas differently and this plays an important role for my work and to deal with different people and cultures.
I became interested in Welsh when I did my DNA test and I found some Celtic roots in my past. This really puts my life in perspective. Iām still learning about it but I would like someday to go back through the path of my ancestors in central Europe, the Iberian peninsula and the British Islands.
I hope this helps.
Diolch!
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What a fascinating story, Diego - thank you so much for sharing it with us! Have you met anyone else in Canada who speaks Welsh yet?
Hi Aran,
Happy to help! I have not. Iām driving my wife and kids crazy when I reply to them in Welsh instead of Spanish or English lol. But I would love to. I know there are two people close as per the map but I need to spend time and find if they want to practice with me. Thatās definitely what I need now. I already completed the level 1 and after two weeks of vacation away I need to start with the level two and find people to share what I learned.
Diolch
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Love the thought of thatā¦ Poor things!
Let us know how it goes when you manage to find someone to practise with - and donāt forget about Skypeā¦
@aran
Just an extra thought if still needed.
The main problem I had after going through all the formal routes of lessons up to Uwch was that I wasnāt able to think quickly enough to be able to hold a proper conversation. Thatās what the SSiW experience does so well (especially with the chipmunks!) It teaches you to speak naturally without thinking too much just by trusting the processā¦
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