Well - a big day for me today. I finished the last lesson of Level 3 of SSi Welsh, Northern!
First of all, I want to say a massive thank you to Aran and all the SSi team for enabling me to FINALLY do what I have been saying I would do all my adult life and begin to learn to speak Welsh. And to enjoy it SO much!
In the very first introductory piece, you describe SSi as a game - and Level 3 really felt like that. I loved the way that you played mind games with us - letting us figure out for ourselves the equivalance of “matter” and “count”, for example, or “reach” and “arrive.” And strewing our path with all-too-similar words (draw, draws, dros, drws…)
I’ve pushed myself pretty hard and fast - probably too fast. I know I still have a LOT to do, especially in terms of listening and understanding. But I have been horrible conscious that, with my mother now aged 91, this really is my last chance to speak to her in her native tongue. And I’ve been lucky enough to be able to spend about an hour a day, so I’ve just kept ploughing on.
In case it’s of interest to anyone else, the pattern of practice that has worked best for me is to go through each lesson twice, with a sleep in between. And to do them just before taking my dog for a walk, so I can spend the walk trying out sentences on him. (Though what he thinks when I ask him if he can hold the door while I go and fetch the keys, I can’t imagine!)
The only thing I’m a bit disappointed about is that the 6-month course came along just too late for me. I had already done a couple of lessons on Level 2 when the email came. I have listened in on a few of the group chats and envied the participants the chance to talk Welsh to one another. So I hope the promosed ‘Deep Dive’ for learners further along the path will come soon! But I know it must be a massive amount of work for the SSi team, and I mustn’t be too greedy. Meanwhile, I will stave off withdrawal symptoms by dabbling in the old course material.
Anyway: diolch yn fawr iawn eto. Dwy’n hapus iawn efo faint dw i wedi dysgu mewn amser byr!
Catriona
