Ask your FIRST question about SSiW in here...:-)

Many thanks Aran, I really appreciate everything you all do on here! :blush::+1:

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hi cant seem to pronounce cant finding it a bit difficult any tips please

Are you doing the northern or southern course, Tony? :slight_smile:

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South and many thanks

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Southern thanks

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Is there anything in particular tripping you up with the pronunciation? Or does it just all seem a bit tough?

If it’s the latter, hang on in there, it will start to seem more familiar over time, because of the amount of listening you do with this approach… :slight_smile:

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ok. not a question just a statement. i have struggled through to challenge14 and not missed many days at all but this is just too much . i give up now and am so sad to fail. good luck and my sincere admiration to all of those who can do this i wish i was one of you.

Ooo @hilary-moorhouse…

…12, 13 and 14 are world famously the toughest ones - I think Aran has said more than once that in retrospect, a bit too much…

…so you have just slogged your way to the brow of the hill - and I congratulate you most sincerely for that…its a real achievement but it starts to level out a bit now…and the repetition in future lessons allows to pick up the content of these lessons over time.

Maybe you need a break…lots of people have done it all different ways…and of course it’s your call…but it would be a great, great shame for you to stop at this particular point.

You have my utmost sympathies - I can remember my head hurting after those…hopefully you can resume or find a way through :sunny: :sunny:

Rich :slight_smile:

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Absolutely what Rich said in his post!

This forum is especially for everyone to help everyone out when they hit sticky patches - please don’t feel you have to struggle through the difficult bits alone. We are here to help, but can only do so when we know help is needed, so please, please, don’t give up yet, let us help you by posting any questions, anxieties or even fed-up-ness you have - we’ve all been there, and can hopefully turn them into answers, advice and positive breakthroughs.

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Thanks Rich you are very kind. At the moment i can’t face any more and am sorry to let down my Welsh speaking friends who have been so encouraging.
don’t know what else to say,.

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@hilary-moorhouse …please don’t beat yourself about anything - you haven’t let anyone down - not at all.

The truth is - in reality - if you’ve got that far, that you are already a Welsh speaker… you have got a lot of the major structures under your belt by that point - which could take years via other methods…and how long has it taken you…?

Have you been doing the lessons by yourself…or via one of the structured courses?

Rich :slight_smile:

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Being overfaced is a temporary effect, Hilary, really! Do not be put off by having found a limit, it’s a good sign! Have a bit of a rest, perhaps, and come back if you can, if you can find any slight curiosity. Come back and gaze at the battleground that right now feels now like the site of your “defeat”, disappointment & shame. Have a dig around in some shrapnel on the site, and you may find your appetite for doing battle with the old foe/friend/sparring partner will return. In a few days, a week, or two.

Just say hi here on the site!

Be prepared to cheat! Break all the rules. In the challenges: Talk over the guy giving chunks in English as soon as you know how to say anything he’s asking for, and don’t let “that woman” put you off saying what you can, even if she has left too short a gap! (Oooh, they have made me SOooo angry sometimes!) :wink:

Perhaps just listen to the next challenge for its first 15 mins and say nothing! Rebel! Hold back! Do a past challenge from 5 or 10 challenges back, and see if you can show yourself how much you know, how much you’ve learned, how curious it still is to you!

I say that because actually, even when you’ve just reached that limit, your brain is working away, still learning and absorbing and connecting with what you know, and as long as you keep coming back to some vaguely familiar territory (perhaps being less ambitious, but rediscovering your determination) that zone of apparent “impossibility” and “too-muchness” will start to feel familiar, and more possible again.

It happens to me on a regular basis. I’m not a model student, but after 22 months I’m still here…

I have just started the course (completed week 2 of South Wales). I downloaded the app and noticed that I can access all of the challenges now. Would you recommend waiting until I receive the emails before moving on? (as there are other things to do each week besides the challenges)
Diolch,
Andrew

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Welcome Andrew :slight_smile:
It’s a personal choice really - I think some people do move on, others prefer to wait for the emails.
Are you doing the 6 minute-a-day course or the 6 month course?
The 6 month course follows the same material but in a shorter time-frame, so one thing I would say is that if you do move on, don’t be disheartened when things get a bit more intense (as they will!). Also, if you do move on by yourself, do still do the extra tasks set in the emails, you’ll get enormous benefit from them.
If you’re following the 6 minute-a-day course and find the pace too slow for you (you are still only beginning, so remember, the ‘pace’ will ‘hot up’!), by all means move ahead, but again, do the extra tasks as well - you can always slow down and stick with the email pattern when the harder challenges set in.
Either way, it needs to stay ‘do-able’ and fun, so find the way that helps you carry on best.

Whatever you decide, remember the forum community is always here for you, so if you need answers, encouragement, or even to let us know of your breakthroughs, keep posting! :slight_smile:

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Thank you. I am doing the 6 month course and enjoying it so far. I think I will stick with the two sessions per week for now and see how I go!

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Hi Andrew!

Good question! I rather regretted racing ahead… However, having a chilled look in Week 0, at all that the coming course has to offer…

[e.g. a Slack community “6/6 Support” (as soon as you get the joining instructions) deciding how you’ll make your profile clearly yours, distinct from other Andrews, becoming familiar with all the channels on there, each having a specific purpose, including “# introduce yourself” and “# group video sessions” (link in that channel but timetable under # announcements), and sessions which include a Q&A of 30mins length in English so you can safely say hi in person]

… and finding your way round this forum, on which you now have a posting & thread here, + also having explored what is on the SSi website (FAQs, etc): all these preparations will stand you in good stead later.

Best wishes, pob lwc @andrew-birch … I look forward to the possibility of meeting you at an event or a regular meet-up somewhere, or perhaps online in a group video session.

P.S. Subscribing to the emailed newsletter that @CatrinLliarJones sends out or to the additional Slack community WSP; looking up SSiW on social media, if you use that sort of thing, these will alert you to the rich life that is out there (and in here) for you! You can then prioritise with ease. :wink:

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how do you record myself on soundcloud please

It sometimes depends on what gadget you’re using (pc/phone/tablet etc), but what I do is record using the in-built software on my laptop, then upload the track to soundcloud, then copy the ‘share’ link to post it back in the relevant section in the forum.
You might find some other tips here, or if you search for ‘soundcloud’ using the magnifying glass on the top banner, you’ll find other threads that may help too.

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Hi everyone :slight_smile: Not sure if my brain is hard wired or if its just me - I’m on lesson one and I’m really struggling to remember to say “D’wym” rather than “R’wyn”. Is that a problem, do I need to work at this, or is R’wyn ok? I also must be rectivating my Welsh brain cells from when I was MUCH younger, because I automatically said Isiau (?) rather than Moyn. Help! I know we aren’t striving for perfection, but I’d like to getthe first lesson right at least!
Thanks xx

You’re ‘right’ whichever one you go with, because they’re just different ways of saying the same thing - rwy’n is a bit more formal and old-fashioned, but that doesn’t matter - dwi’n (note: N, not M) is more common/normal now - but if you go with whichever comes to mind first, you’ll be fine, and in due course you’ll almost certainly end up using whichever version you hear most from the people you spend most time in conversation with… :slight_smile: