I had another idea, which only works in Wales. There are places in our local towns where staff and volunteers interact with the public - leisure centres, museums, hotels, etc. They will be aware that their Welsh-speaking visitors really appreciate being able to speak in Welsh, and they may be delighted to know of a way they could train their people up cheaply and fast.
I’ve contacted a couple of organisations of which I’m a member or regular visitor. I think it’s a long shot, but if anyone jumps at the idea, they might sign up half a dozen people at once!
I’ve thought of a variation on my earlier idea, and this one could apply to anyone who has visited Wales!
Last year, @Isata and I spent the day at St Fagan’s (National Museum of History, near Cardiff). Our mission was to spend the whole day speaking only Welsh. We had a hilarious time, half-understanding what the enthusiastic guides told us, but our mission failed, because not everyone could speak Welsh. So I e-mailed St Fagan’s, to tell them about our experience, and to suggest what they could do to make it even better.
If you have stayed at, or visited, somewhere in Wales, and been disappointed that you couldn’t use your Welsh, why not e-mail them and tell them how SSiW could help them improve their visitor experience? You may not get any sign-ups, but feedback from visitors saying how important Welsh is to their enjoyment can only be good for the language in the long run.
I’ve found it quite a challenge to pack all the necessary information into a short e-mail. If anyone wants a copy of my specimen e-mail to get them started, please send me a private message!
Another thought, folks - you could send a short letter to local/national daily/weekly newspapers, explaining that the £240 6 Month course is on offer as a free bonus, putting the url www.SaySomethinginWelsh.com/6min - and then saying ‘Put my name in the ‘How did you hear?’ box to be able to get the free bonus!’.
Send off a few letters like that to a few different papers, and if a couple get published, you might have a very sudden jump up the leaderboard…
Also - how about cards in shop windows? If you explain to shop owners that it’s a gigantic saving opportunity for Welsh learners, but only lasting for May, and that it’s entirely depending on grassroots word-of-mouth to let people hear about it before it runs out, you’d probably find a fair few willing to stick it up - not just newsagents (who are used to wanting to charge) but other sorts of shops as well. And if you know any shop owners, they might let you put something bigger than a postcard, if you make it pretty…
…there’s a community run shop and cafe/diner on one of the main routes I have seen featured on a few programmes because all the staff siarad Cymraeg.
Places like that would be ideal. @Nicky Theoretically your YouTube account raises revenue and is therefore at least semi-business. On Twitter hit @yrawrgymraeg by #yagm between 8-9 Wednesday each week in May.
…or less if the hashtag goes nuts (probably not drawing from a discussion I had with Aran). It’s still a legitimate use of the hashtag for you or anyone else with a business. Just make sure you pin the SSiW promo on the landing page and make it easy!
Who is the person closest to you who doesn’t speak Welsh? The person you’d most like to be able to practise your new-found skill with? Tell them how much Welsh means to you, and how much it would mean if you could share it with them…
I’m looking forward to seeing lots more names on the Leaderboard soon!
I sent this picture to Aran and intended to put it on here too but got side tracked and forgot. I then joked with Aran about not telling anyone else and now I just look like a selfish fool.
Anyway, better late than never … I made these to hand out …
Another idea I had but never got the nerve to do it was to approach some of the Welsh schools in my area (there are a few) to ask about ‘targeting’ non Welsh speaking parents. Maybe putting something on their website or a mention in their newsletter.
Aran mentioned putting cards up in shops, I’ve found the best place to put them up is the local Chinese (or other) take-away. Lots of people through the door every week, every one of them hanging around for at least a few minutes waiting for their food. I always leave 3 on the wall of the Wong Sing in Acrefair and at least one of them has disappeared by the time I go back (sometimes all 3 so I do wonder if someone is just getting rid). I haven’t put any of the new ones up there yet.
I must have talked to more than 30 people about this, handed at least 20 cards out and stuck some up in the local take-away to only be on 2 referrals so it seems like my “best stuff” just isn’t good enough.
I’m amazed at how many people say they want to be able to speak Welsh but don’t want to do a single thing about it.
Don’t forget you’ve been working those streets for years, and have already signed up dozens (hundreds?) of people previously! I have great faith that every conversation gets someone nearer to learning Welsh. Last week, I was at a meeting organised by Merched y Wawr in Llanbrynmair, to support new learners of Welsh. Nia and I talked about Say Something in Welsh, and I handed out leaflets about this offer. A learner doing the 6-month course, Sarah Holtom, introduced herself so well that she earned a round of applause. I’m so confident that her obvious progress will inspire new people to sign up, now or later, that I’m asking @Aran (who after all, has little else to do), to transfer 2 of my sign-ups to Sarah. And that will really open up the race for those lovely prizes!
Bronwen - that is beautiful and kind of you - but can I beg your forgiveness and not? You see, if other people start swapping signups around as well, there is a genuine fighting chance that my brain will melt before the end of the month (yup, actual gibbering in corners material!) - I’m running on fumes at the moment - Catrin will tell you of entire conversations she’s had with me that just haven’t gone in at all because I was trying to get an email to make some sort of sense…
Sorry. I know this sounds a bit ‘oh, poor me’, but what little brains I have are genuinely stretched very, VERY thin at the moment!
Geraint - you’ve done such stunning work over the years - this has been timed badly for you. Pleased don’t start twisting anyone’s arms to the point where you end up in prison!
