I have been learning for one year. I started reading 3 months ago. I’m really enjoying reading. Here are the books that I have read in the order of difficulty according to my opinion.
Cwm Gwrachod - Colin Jones. Short Chapters quite easy to read. I enjoyed this story. It’s a little magical story with some explanation at the beggining of each chapter.
Coed Y Brenin - Colin Jones. Similar style and layout. I didn’t enjoy the story so much but it was ok and worth reading. I think the two books above would be suitable for anyone who has done about 3-6 months.
Next step up Louis Arnold’s books. I think someone who has been learning 6 months could have a go at one of these. Ffenestri would be the best one to start off with as it is a collection of short stories and the odd poem. The first 1/3 of the book is for Level Mynediad, next 1/3 is Lefel Sylfaen and last third is Lefel Canolradd. To be honest I didnt notice it get much harder but I think I might be Lefel C .
I read Sgwp before I read Ffenstri but as I said I think the other way round would be better. I liked Sgwp. It’s a story of a young lady who works at the local newspaper doing boring day to day stories but is hoping for something interesting to happen. I have just started reading Cysgod yn y coed, i think it might be slightly more difficult than the other two Louis Arnold books but maybe its the same level as Sgwp.
Benefits of reading seem to be -
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Reinforcing words that you know. You quickly cover a lot of ground whilst reading and get used to seeing how words work together. It reinforces the patterns you know but shows you how they are used in day to day life.
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You learn new words simply by guessing what goes where. For instance if “The owl … through the woods”. You can have a good guess that it flew and the word you didn’t know is “flew”
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Good for reminding you about mutations. I think its easier to see a mutation than to hear one.
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Learning past tense. Reading definately helped me get used to past tense and the way its used.
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Learning words through the fact they regularly come up in the story. If someone is off and on a motor bike a few times then by the time the story is finished you will know the welsh for motorbike.
I bought some books from a charity shop in Dolgellau but I am struggling to read them. I don’t know if the welsh is old style or if its because the other books i have mentioned are for learners.
I would love to hear what books you have read and how difficult they seem to be. Any ideas for what I can read next.