Never said it should be required, just that it’d be useful (particularly if the person going has done all the others and still has a while before the trip 
).
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No, you didn’t, but I’m keen to make everything as clear as possible in this thread, because it’s specifically to help people make these decisions.
I agree that extra material is always a good thing - but our official standpoint is that we will accept people on Bootcamp who have finished Level 1, and that doing extra vocab lessons (starting, I recommend, with 5, 6, 7, 8) is optional 
This thread is really timely for me. I have been stagnating a bit recently (my mother has been staying with me until recently and I didn’t have much time for doing SSiW). That’s one excuse and the other one is that I really couldn’t decide what to do next.
I finished Course 2 (Northern) some months ago. I started on Course 3 (I think I got to Lesson 2) and had a bit of a wobble - it seemed very northern. Well of course it was northern, because I have been doing the northern Course 1 and 2, but I live near Machynlleth and have been doing formal courses at Aberystwyth University (southern/Ceridigion Welsh). Sometimes (often) I am confused and just use whichever version comes into my head - north and south in one sentence!.
I also had difficulty deciding how colloquial I wanted to be. You need to bear in mind here that I am the kind of person that turns off the Starburst advert on the TV, because it says “unexplainably juicy”, shouting “inexplicable” over and over to myself…
I am up to Lesson 4 of the Vocab units after Course 2, and enjoying those, even though I’m finding them quite difficult.
Any advice gratefully received. Should I continue with Course 3 Northern, or should I change to Level 1 Northern, or even Southern or both? I have an eight-hour train journey coming up soon, so I think I could make a really good start, if only I could decide on the route to take!
I’d suggest starting Level 1, honestly - the majority of Course 3 is spent teaching the short forms of verbs, which is a thing you learn pretty much from the outset with Level 1 anyway. It might be worth doing the Southern one, just to be more similar to the way they speak around Mach and Aber, but that’s entirely up to you.
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In Machynlleth, and where I live, it’s mainly north Wales Welsh, which is why I started the SSiW northern course. The change to southern Welsh seems to be a bit further down the road towards Aberystwyth, say around Tal-y-bont. My mum has just moved to Aberystwyth, so I’ve started a conversation class in Aberystwyth (south/Ceredigion) and I’m also doing a conversation class in Mach, which is north Wales Welsh! It’s not a big problem tuning in to the different accents, but the differences seem more noticeable with the short forms.
Since the Level 1 course introduces these early and along the way, that could be a good reason for doing that next.
I finished the original Courses 1 and 2 and now wanting to do the new levels 1 and 2. Am I right in assuming that the daily practise sessions I used to do with the old courses are not going to be applicable with the new levels?
S’mae Demon?
They are still valuable to do if you want to (I use them for random practice semi-regularly), but no they are not directly applicable to the new Levels. There are new listening practices though, and these are superb. They can be found on the lesson download pages for Challenges 5,10, 15, 20 and 25. These are dialogue-based, and the last 4 are at double speed, so they are fantastic for getting your brain processing Welsh lightning fast.
Pob lwc,
Stu
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Shw mae i gyd. I’m new to the SSiW Web site and Forum. I completed Cwrs Mynyddiad Un last year as an adult learner and thoroughly enjoyed it. I cannot commit to the 1hr / week this year so I started self learning using the SSiW audio course which I find enjoyable - but I miss the social aspects of the ‘tutor driven’ course. I have now completed level 3, moving onto Level 4. Presumably, from the foregoing posts is this still a good strategy for me. Advice welcomed. Mike
Welcome to the forum, Mike
When you say 4, are you talking about Mynediad material or perhaps our Level 1? If you’ve done our old Course 3, you’re going great guns!
Whereabouts are you? It’s a shame to have to miss out on the social side of things, but maybe there’s a group somewhere near you that you could meet from time to time
Hi Aran. Thanks for your reply. I live in Newport. I am moving on to ‘Lesson 4’ (sorry) in the ‘old’ SSiW course. I completed Cwrs Mynydiad 1 as an adult learner; this was great fun - 3 hours a week over last academic year.
I think there are (or certainly have been) some socials in or around the 'Port - @cuckoo or @theblacksparrow might know 
Good luck, and don’t hesitate to come on here and ask for help when you hit any of the brick walls we’ve cleverly hidden in the course…
Hi Mike, as Aran said there’s a bit going on locally if you know where to look, Saturday mornings seem to be favourite unless like me you’re retired. The next SSIW meeting in
the 'port is in March, look for a post on the forum. There lot’s of midweek meetings in and
around Newport if you’ve got time off.
Again as Aran said feel free to pm James or myself.
Hwyl am y tro.
Dave ( cuckoo )
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Hi @michaelharries - @cuckoo is definitely the man to speak to about local Casnewydd meetups since he goes to far more of them than I do!
There’s also a great Tuesday evening meeting in Croesyceiliog. There’s a good mix of learners and first language speakers to talk to.
The next one’s tomorrow - Torfaen Meetup - Tuesdays @ 1900 - The Upper Cock Inn, Croesyceiliog
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I have recently completed course 1 (southern version) 26 main sessions and 10 vol cab session. I am now ready to move on to the next course but I am unsure how to do it I would be grateful for any advice.
many thanks
Sian Morris
Hi Sian,
Either option of going on to the old course 2, or starting with the new level 1 is a good choice. I’d consider how quickly you’re going through material.
But my opinion, which is entirely worthless as advice, is that there are 20-odd lessons in the new level1 Southern at the moment - if you think you’re likely to still be working through those when the remaining 5 lessons are available (I’d guess a couple of months given the rate of progress, but I have no insider knowledge), I’d do Level 1 now and forget about Course 2 for the moment. On the other hand, if you’re going to tear through Level 1 more quickly than the new lessons can be produced, maybe look at doing Course 2 and coming back to Level1 afterwards.
Either option’s good.
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Help! I have slowly worked up to Lesson 6 of Course 1 but am now totally stumped by the speed of the Welsh being spoken. What should I do? Do I need to keep going over the previous lessons until I become more familiar with the patterns…should I switch to the Level 1 I’ve been reading about…or am I simply a hopeless case?
I do think the course is brilliant by the way…just doubting my own ability to pick up a new language. I would like to keep trying though.
Don’t doubt your ability, Kathryn - you can speak English, so you can speak Welsh - it’s the same neurological journey. There is no doubt at all about your ability to do it.
The old lessons 6 are pretty tough - badly written, I’m afraid - sorry! If you want to carry on with Course 1, then just press on through them and it will eventually bed in as you carry on progressing - but I would certainly recommend that you switch over to the much better written Level 1
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If comforts you, almost everyone here doubted their ability when comming to Lesson 6 of Course 1 (at least as much as I could establish from written allaround here). I still feel (as to my knowledge many of us do) it’s the hardest part of at least Course 1.
If I could manage to go through both parts of it, you can do it too. Everyone can do it if I did it as my memory abilities are really low. 
So just corageously go further.
And @aran, it’s a bit tough this Lesson 6 (yah, my brains melted that time I admit) but I still feel old Courses are better with way more explanation from which I understand better some things taught in Level 1 now too. I’m at Lesson 15 of Course 2 at the moment. Not that I’m entirely satisfied with my progress (as always - hehe) but I find it managable and great so far. Listening to @Iestyn’s patient voice when explains things (doing south course) comforts me anyway.
@Kathryn I remember lesson 6! I thought it was all falling apart overnight. It’s honestly not. I switched to the new Level One shortly after and it felt like flying in comparison. I promise you you’re not a hopeless case - it’s all Lesson 6’s fault!
As Aran says, Level One is much better, but if you run out of lessons and don’t want to stop, my advice would be don’t be afraid of going back to Course 1 and the rest afterwards, even if you just press on through the difficult bits - it will come together in the end. I’m just starting Course 3 and that seemed like an impossible dream when I was ploughing my way through the 3rd miserable attempt at Lesson 6, wondering if it would be easier to gouge my brain out with a spoon.
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