Format of skype practice

Yah, I didn’t think about this aspect. I just usually want all would take more or less equal part. …

1 Like

Me too, that’s why I think we need some speaking prompts. Or we could just introduce ourselves here, er engraifft: I’m Seren, I like talking about baking, clothes, tv-shows, books, pets, classical music and beautiful people, and I have a frog, a cat and 18 giant snails:) So others would know which questions to ask. It’s a bit awkward when you don’t know the person at all.

1 Like

Yes, I feel similarly!

Yes, I think this is a nice idea :slight_smile:

For example, i fod yn honest, I felt that @Pete2 dominated the conversation a bit at the beginning, perhaps because he spoke so quickly, and then people were mostly just listening or responding to him rather than it being a back-and-forth.

It’s difficult to make sure everyone has a roughly equal share – or at least one that they feel is big enough! Not everyone might want to speak as much as they listen.

:clap: I agree!

Yes. This is a good idea. I for example know (a bit) you … actually only you among those I’ve talked to recently, and @brigitte to who I talk (mostly) every Saturday and that’s all. I also noticed recently I’m quite “strange” person regarding topic of discussion as I practically don’t have a topic which I’d be able to discuss with the rest of here especially recently as i don’t watch much TV, don’t know much about topics you all know and (to be honest) am not too much in the Welsh history. I also don’t know places in Wales you know and I am not too familiar with habits. We also don’t have many (or practically we don’t have them) charity shops in which you could buy things like old books and stuff. Well old books you can buy in the book antiques but this is mostly all. Music is usually only music to me. If it’s great one I remember the tune/lyrics but (usually) not the performer and if it’s not too good I tend to forget the whole thing.

Actually I am realizing that besides bootcamp and happenings along with that staying in Caerdydd there’s no particular topic which would be in common interest of all and those two just mentioned one could be fed with to discuss about prety soon especially as I sometimes feel like I’m showing off (unintentionally) if talking too much about the subject. This last can especially be exclusive to others when chatting in the group so I tend not to start such conversation but if I’m asked a question I answer it of course.

Thank you for supporting the idea.
The introductions would help me a lot, since because I’m used to getting a lot of talking time as a teacher I can start dominating the conversation with self-talk if I don’t know the other person well enough and can’t ask about the topics of their interest, and I don’t want that.

1 Like

This is great as i sometimes think i am talking to much, glad people can be honest in such a useful way.

So all ideas of how to make the skype calls better are open.

I wonder if some kind of online article could be linked to , then everybody would have say a week to read and think about it ready to discuss when we meet.
Any print material that could be pasted here would be extra convenient (i will have a look around the web tonight).
Another idea is perhaps discussing a thread from this forum, those who like music may have noticed the 'Lets write a song ’ thread which may provide some interesting material.

Cheers J.P.

Ooops

Sorry, my fault. I had a feeling he was eager to “meet” me as we spoke for the first time ever. This is why I didn’t tend to make “big (long)” answers to his questions. Maybe we should really have the one on one conversation @Pete2?

I felt you @philipnewton would be much more talkative then you were, providing you the right topic to discuss, but undortunately (as I’ve said already) I don’t have that one for you so once again I was glad @seren provided one for you to talk and for us to listen with interest (at least I did listen with interest despite I don’t quite know what is actually happening in Rownd a Rownd).

More then nice idea, it’s fair idea. We come to conversation groups to talk and get skilled in talking ability of language we’re learning so it’s only fair each in the group is provided with equal chance to talk. I tend to lead the conversation sometimes too but at that occassion my brains are more at reminding me not to overtake then at actually speaking and thinking about words and sentences (how to structure them and similar). This can be good idea as you tend just “unconsciously” talk (what is natural way of talking).

And, on the other hand, it’s good I am not much into topica you like to discuss as I can be too talkative sometimes. At least at one occassion I tend to be more quiet than I usually am - HAHA! :slight_smile:

Well if people would like to disscuss Hanes Cymru - Welsh history. I found this on Wicipedia which is in several languages and could keep us busy learning for rather a long time. I would suggest one section at a time.

Cheers J.P.

2 Likes

Hanes Cymru Translation.

Er nad yw’n wlad fawr o ran ei maint, mae hanes Cymru yn hir a diddorol. Gellid dadlau fod hanes Cymru fel gwlad, neu egin-wlad, yn dechrau yn ystod cyfnod rheolaeth yr Ymerodraeth Rufeinig. Credir fod Cristnogaeth wedi ymgartrefu yng Nghymru tua diwedd y cyfnod hwnnw ac arferir galw’r cyfnod olynol yn Oes y Seintiau. Yng nghyfnod y seintiau cynnar gwelwyd newidiadau sylfaenol ym Mhrydain o dan bwysau’r goresgyniad Eingl-Sacsonaidd yn ne a dwyrain yr ynys a mewnfudo gan Wyddelod i Gymru a gorllewin yr Alban.

Although not a big country in terms of its size, has a long and interesting history of Wales. Arguably Welsh history as a country, or emerging country, begins at a time control of the Roman Empire. It is believed that Christianity had settled in Wales towards the end of that period and exercise period called successive Age of the Saints. In the period of the early saints saw fundamental changes in Britain under the weight of Anglo-Saxon in the south and east of the island and Irish immigration from Wales and western Scotland.

Here is the first paragraph from the Article, rather complex but i think we can take this apart line by line (simplify / modify ) and make plenty of brawddeg i ymarfer - practice sentences. There are lots of bits we can talk around, like travel, compass directions etc.
I will make a start as soon as i get a bit of time to try and illustrate what i am thinking.

Cheers J.P.

1 Like

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cymru/hanes/safle/ysgolion/cyfnodau/beca.shtml

An entire website about Hanes Cymru, with videos. I haven’t spent much time on it yet, but it could be of interest. The link is to the Merched Beca story, but there is, apparently, a lot for different historical times.

2 Likes

When you talked about your llyffant, at first I thought it meant eliffant :smile:

I’m notoriously bad at pronunciation - through all my school years my Italian classmates made fun of the way I sound, I was my English phonetics teacher’s worst student, and my accent is very strong in all the languages I speak, despite my best efforts.
If you don’t understand something of what I say, please tell me and I will write it.

I understood your pronunciation just fine @seren , I just didn’t know the Welsh word and guessed wrongly as to its meaning :smile:

1 Like

Oops, such a well-crafted speech of linguistic depression and all in vain:) I will save it for the next time I mix up “gwyn” with “gwin”.

2 Likes

At least in Welsh they’re spelled differently! In Unified Cornish (which didn’t use the letter i), they were both gwyn – yet were supposed to be pronounced differently!

(In SWF, “white wine” is gwin gwynn, with a double distinction between the two words; the nn spelling indicates that it can also be spelled gwydn for those who pronounce it that way.)

(Stella sits down and cries)

They go perfectly together. - haha :slight_smile:

1 Like

@ramblingjohn I don’t know if I was included in an invite on Sunday but I was away. I would love to try to join in again, if it’s possible.
Personally, when I first joined, I was very shy. Coupled with the fact I couldn’t speak well or understand much I wasn’t sure if I could continue without spoiling it for others. It was beginning to get better, though, as I began to tune in and to begin to know people (and they became more aware of my many limitations with the language!)
If I’m included again, I know I will be very shy again to begin with. And I am painfully aware I am such a slow learner compared to most of you I worry I would be a nuisance. But it really is useful to both speak and listen, for increased confidence.
I hope I’m not alone in this. If I am, maybe we could have a separate skype for…the…slow…learners :slight_smile:

3 Likes

Hopefully i have said before in this thread that people can just listen to start with if they wish.

I can certainly remember how slow and awkward my first skype attempts were and still think listening is at least half the benefit.

Cheers J.P.

2 Likes