Tatjana - progress reports

Heia Tatjana,

What about this particular challenge is making it feel that way? The sentences get pretty long, if I remember correctly. I think it also brings in dweud wrth with its personal forms I think… Let us know and we’ll try to help.

Hwyl,

Stu

2 Likes

Dweud is the slidest problem, I’m stuck with different way of past for him and her and yes, very long sentences. I can’t even remember the whole sentence in English what to form it in Welsh. (my constant problem though).

Suggestions: should I go back to Challenge 12 and then to Challenge 13 again or should I continue with Challenge 14 no matter what? I was thinking of repeating Challeng 12 and 13 and then go further as I’m not sure how much of previous things is practiced in Challenge 14. With more material it’s understandable not everything can be practiced in each and every Challenge further on.

This is extremely common Tatjana, just do not worry about it. If you cannot remember the whole thing, make up the ending yourself. Over time, you will get a lot better at remembering long sentences, but really, honestly, it is no big deal and not worth getting frustrated about :wink:

I suggest that you push on. I listened to Challenges 12 - 20 during my drive to and from Abertawe today, and you will get lots of practise with the key stuff in the upcoming lessons!

Most of all, take a deep breath, laugh at your mistakes, enjoy your Welsh and try not to be hard on yourself. Everyone has gone through what you are experiencing, and come out the other side a Welsh speaker - and so will you. There will be down days, but over time, the highs will overwhelm the lows and as you grow in experience, you will be happy to go with the flow, believe me. The best of luck with Challenge 14, and post back with how you get on; I am certain that your story will be here to inspire other learners to persevere long into the future!

Hwyl,

Stu

2 Likes

This. Not every single word/structure is repeated in every session, but that’s because the structure of spaced repetition doesn’t require them to be - they are all, however, repeated often enough at the right kind of intervals for you to acquire them successfully if you keep on moving through the course :sunny:

I’ve pushed through the Challenge 14 yesterday only to find out I just couldn’t produce almost any single sentence so I might go back.

I just don’t quite get quite different aproach to past and future for he/she and now I’m even so confused I all of a sudden can’t remember even those I’ve learnt in Course 1. So I just now decided I’ll go back to Challenge 12 and do all three again.

I won’t post much in this topic anymore as I obviously talk too much (was warned by the forum system) and it might really be I’ve brought this topic to a bit different direction then it meant to be for what I apologize. I’ll give people space to discuss (despite I never meant to take it away from them).

So, now really, as said before in one of my previous posts, I’ll return in a month or two (hopefully if I won’t quit learning before that time)

Da boch a pob lwc i chi bawb.

I bet you don’t get warned half as often as I do! Don’t take the system warnings too literally…:wink:

You tend to rate yourself too harshly, Tatjana - I think it would be a really interesting exercise for you to attempt Challenge 15 before you go back and do a re-run through 12 onwards. If it confirms your feeling that you need to repeat, no harm done - but if you find that you do better than you were expecting, it would be a very useful nudge… :sunny:

Meanwhile, I’ll give your conversation its own thread, so that we leave this one clear for discussion about choosing which course :sunny:

1 Like

No, don’t stop posting Tatjana!

2 Likes

Diolch yn fawr iawn.

Bydda i’n trio.

I went back to Challenge 12 in Level 1 and stucked with Challenge 13.

Move on to 14 Tatjana, no point in getting stuck!

Pob lwc,

Stu

1 Like

It seams like with math to me. If you don’t get it you just can’t go further as it’ll do no good. That’s why I’m lausy with math all the way. :slight_smile:

That really isn’t the way this method works. I remember distinctly the oain of old lessons 6a and b from Course 1, they seemed so hard! But Aran advised moving on, so I did. A week or so later, I really wondered why I had made such a fuss about those lessons, as they seemed straightforward having moved on. Getting stuck and just getting frustrated will get you nowhere, honestly. Trust the method and fire up Challenge 14!

Hwyl,

Stu

1 Like

I did a week ago and I’ve got nowhere. I’m not sure what part I do wrong, but at the moment Lesson 6a and b seams like balsam against Challenge 14.

But obviously it’s just me. Obviously I’m just too old to get rid off this perfectionist of mine so I suffer, I know.

I agree with Stu, for the same reasons. I, too, beat my head against Course 1, 6a & b, for probably longer than I should have. I ended deciding to just move on and try 7. I think part of my block on the 6’s towards the end was purely mental. I’d unknowingly convinced myself they were impossible and/or I was incapable of learning the material. Well, once I moved on to 7, I did that lesson in one go and flew on through to 12 in the space of a week. Now if I get stuck on a lesson, I’m allowed to repeat it once more just before I go to bed, then the next morning is a new day and I have to move on to a new lesson. Yes, the first few minutes or so are typically full of the painful “doh!” moments as I struggle to come up with the material from the prior lesson, but then it’s all back to business as usual. I’m a firm believer that anyone can learn just about anything if they come at it the right way and believe they can do it!

2 Likes

This is weird. Moving on to next lesson it resulted in just oposite thing to me. At the beginning of next lesson it all seams quite comfortable and light and I always say “Well, that’s easy enough” but the further I go the less I’m capable of producing no matter how I convince myself it is as easy and “learnable” as at the beginning. That’s why I’m even more frustrated. All of a sudden nothing gets in anymore.

However the truth is I rearly use pause button as I believe everything should be easy enough to say it in a go. I used pause button maybe in one of two lessons and it seamed to me as that I don’t go anywhere and the whole lesson seamed 1 day long (instead of half an hour).

:angry: That does sound annoying. Maybe take a semi-break to relieve some frustration? And by semi-break I mean stop doing lessons for a bit and stop trying to learn, but still do lots of listening. Turn on Radio Cymru. Play whatever Cymraeg tv you can get ahold of in the background while you’re just puttering around the house. I’ve found the latter to be especially helpful. Sometimes it feels as though I’m just being reminded of something I already know because I’ve already heard it a dozen times on tv.

As for your earlier comment about being a perfectionist, I very much understand that. Doing these lessons has been excellent practise for me for working on not being such a perfectionist. I mess up and absolutely nothing happens! It’s amazing. And I’m doing these lessons in the safety of my home where the only one to judge me for my mistakes is my cat, who will judge me anyway. :wink: So relax, breathe, and cut yourself some slack. :slight_smile:

1 Like

Umm, well, strangly enough I’m not worryig about who will judge me when hearing me talking in Welsh (although despite my husband and my son no one can), but this is clearly evident I’m just not satisfied with what I produce. I never was afraid of talking in any language I learnt (and I’ve learnt 4 languages (English is not my native language though)) so this is not the frustration. The more I’m frustrated is if I’ll understand what other people say as no one even thinks of those who are not native speakers and very often talk even faster then normally at such occassions. (unstopable - haha) :slight_smile: That’s why I totally failed on Chris Needs’ “Garden” on Radio Wales on the phone once when he said “I heard you are speaking some Welsh”. Despite writing the whole evening to them in Welsh when comming to the chance of speaking the first thing comming through my head was What if he’d takl to fast and I wouldn’t understand him and will look like total noob to public, so I just replied “Oh, I would rather not talk about that. I’m just trying to learn some Welsh.” Total fail I’d say, missed chance.

As for listening - the only way I can listen something in Welsh is online but I don’t have my computer at such place it would be heard everywhere in the house and I’d have to sit put there and listen what (normally) I can’t afford to do all the time. I could use phone though for listening some podcast and this is the thing I might do.

I could talk on Skype or messengers but as this experience I passed already I know it’s time consuming for me as I’m easily messenger lover and can’t stop then. (Well, that’s life). I once was consumed by messengers and Skype (that’s why i write English quite well and can easily understand it) so I know how it works for me. That’s why I also don’t search for a swap so I wouldn’t eat someone’s time.

Well, now you knwo all my story. LOL. :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :blush:

That is a superb approach :star:

OK, people of Wales. (hehe) I had first (some kind of) Welsh conversation yesterday. I won’t moan. It was fun BUT, for the difference of you all I just found out how little Welsh (despite of completed Course 1 and Level 1 to lesson 13) I actually speak. A disaster. I could say I had more practice in English (what is also good since English isn’t my first language and I speak it maybe once a year) then in Welsh. so … Well i fi ymarfer, ymarfer, ymarfer … :slight_smile:

But I’m satisfied. I’ve started, what’s most important.

This.

Stu

1 Like