So, I’ve decided to take the plunge into Welsh, though I am a tad self conscious of talking out loud in a studio apartment living with my girlfriend. So I am wondering if language learning is helped or hurt by learning with another person who also has zero knowledge of Welsh.
Both of us are American’s in California so we are unlikely to get to speak to many native speakers for now. D:
S’mae JP,
Croeso i’r fforwm! No need to stay in your apartment to do your lessons. I know what you mean about feeling self-conscious, but how about learning whilst either driving (be careful!!) or out walking? I have found that doing something else whilst working through the Challenges is hugely beneficial. The same has been reported by several other learners with whom I have discussed this. I drive ir walk, but others do housework. Sitting down to do a lesson for some reason seems an awful lot less effective for me. As a bonus, you will be largely unable to access the pause button. This is a great habit to get into - but always remember that the pause button is there if you need it - better to pause than get all frustrated and give up. If you can manage to avoid using it though, that too will be a great help in the medium to long term.
Anyway pob lwc efo’r cwrs! And keep us all informed of your progress. Why not start a learning log and post to it each day you complete a Challenge? It is always fantastic to compare notes with fellow learners. And always remember that this is the friendliest forum on the whole of the Internet. Any questions, this should be your first stop. If you get frustrated, demotivated or have a brilliant conversation in Welsh, come here and tell us all about it.
Hwyl,
Stu
Hi JP, a chroeso hefyd 
What I am not quite sure about in “learning with another person who also has zero knowledge of Welsh” is whether your girlfriend is thinking of learning along with you (or you are thinking of persuading her to… ).
Because if so, and if you are both starting from more or less scratch, then this is absolutely fine as far as I can see, and it should actually add to the fun and enjoyment.
Once you get into it a bit, you will be able to bounce sentences off each other, in a way that’s difficult if learning truly on one’s own, or if one only has a pet cat or dog to speak Welsh to, and although, as we all know, our pets are highly intelligent, sadly, most of them do not have the gift of speech in the usually recognised meaning of that word.
Well as far as I can gather, there are plenty of Americans learning Welsh with SSiW, so you might even have some learners nearer you than you might have guessed.
But failing that, there is of course always Skype or Google hangouts, and many groups or pairs of learners have got together over the internet to practice speaking.
Finding native speakers to talk to is a little more difficult, I must admit, but maybe others here will have suggestions. But you can make a lot of progress speaking with fellow learners both at about your own level, and at a higher level. Most experienced SSiW learners are very patient with new learners, because we remember how it felt at the beginning, so don’t worry too much on that score.
Pob lwc!
Croeso from me too!! If you click on the magnifying glass on the top line and type America, you will get a load of threads about and from American learners!! I am not one!! I am an aged Welsh female living in Yr Alban (Scotland) and on here mainly to cure my hiraeth! (And re-learn a bit of Cymraeg!).
This really is the friendliest group of people. Someone always wants to help and can!!
Re- your original question, I’d be a bit careful of talking your partner into learning. I have never succeeded in anything I didn’t really want to do and learning to oblige you might have an off-putting effect! If you do both genuinely want to learn, doing it together would be great! Also, each could listen to the other and try to point out where, if anywhere, the accent isn’t quite right!
I don’t know if you know what S4C is (TV in Welsh),
click here for a little info
There is also a petition to which I’ll send an invite!
Lwc dda!!
Croeso JP! Dw i’n byw yn California hefyd! Yes, it can be hard to learn on your own, so that’s great if you have a willing partner to join you. I have done almost all of my learning while driving to/from work or while walking the dog. I don’t know if you live anywhere near our lovely state capital, but I (and plenty of others here on the forum) are available on Skype whenever you are ready to have a conversation yn Gymraeg. As Henddraig points out, S4C is a great resource, as is Radio Cymru. Again, welcome, and happy learning!
I would say if you have a willing partner learning together could be great as you get to talk to each other.
That said i agree also that learning while driiving is great.
Whatever you do though make sure you practice regularly. It will come.
We have a pet Tortoise, even speaking English to him nets just that weird blinking one eye at a time and him wandering off. Poor little Tequila, dumb as the rocks he sometimes gets flipped over on. D:
She has decided to go with it, It also helps she teaches English as a job and thus knows the critical bits of learning another language.
Dwi Dddim yn gobud(sp?) dim beed… We agreed with that and look forward to trying the first lesson again and hopefully doing better.
I was really happy to read your post, Stu; because I thought I might be just a little bit nuts in that I always seem to do better on my SSiW lessons when I’m dusting my office. I stumbled upon this knowledge by accident a few weeks ago and thought it was just a coincidence at first, but it’s happened a few times now. I just seem to sail through the lessons beautifully when I’m NOT concentrating on them properly. 
Welcome to the forum, JP…
It’s always tempting to revisit the lessons and try to do ‘better’ - but the interleaving/spaced repetition in the method is a cumulative process - if you try pressing on to challenge 5, or 10, and then revisit 1, you’ll discover that a lot of it has bedded down without you needing to work at it consciously…
S’mae Margaret?
Yes, so many people have reported the same thing, so it cannot be a co-incidence!
Hwyl,
Stu