I had left both school and Uni before that method of teaching/learning was invented, but I remember it being hailed as a huge advance. I hadn’t thought about it since, really, but I can see it must have been dropped and I can’t understand why, as it must have been close to SSiW’s way and it WORKS!!
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For me there was something about having headphones on and sitting in a little space, where you couldn’t interact with everyone else that made me feel completely uninhibited and happy to speak out loud forgetting everyone else was there. It’s too easy in a class of thrity or more kids to stare at the desk and hope no-one is going to pick you out and then just mumble a few things hoping that if you’re really bad then the ordeal will end quickly.
If part of the lsson was done individually for 20-25 minutes, with headphones on maybe and the rest of the time was a time for interaction and instruction then I think once the headphones come off I personally was more programmed and confident to try things out and less inhibited. The length of the SSIW lessons are about right or maybe slightly shorter ones could be done to fit with lesson times - that would be a very interesting experiment.
I think Aran might think we are undoing his good work by suggesting that the old linguaphone type materials and SSIW were very close - I think there are lots of similarities, but with the SSIW materials there has been a lot more thought gone into the content and the mix, that gives a much better blend of materials, that is more challenging and more rewarding.
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No, not really - I mean, I wouldn’t personally describe SSi and Linguaphone as ‘very close’, because I think the differences are more important than the similarities (it’s been a long time since I listening to any Linguaphone stuff, but I have a faint memory that there’s more shadowing (repeating a phrase you’ve heard) than actual sentence construction) - but as far as the whole ‘audio approach’ goes, we do have some points of common ground… 
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So, this was a monster thread - and now Helen is doing a stunning piece of work pulling everything out of it to try and boil down to the essentials - we’re going to be working through them all in Machynlleth next Friday…
So if you haven’t had your say, and would like to in the next few days, your comments will be part of the study…
I should add something that I missed off what I have already said . Another important reason why I decided to try SSIW was the introduction before the first lesson of course 1 . I found that the course was explained very clearly and i was very encouraged that you stated that if I did the course all the way through then I would become a comfortable Welsh speaker and also the fact that you stated that I wouldn’t have to write anything down , which suited me .
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Rather alarmed that there is (or was) someone called Howard who is very critical of SSIW @aran - it ain’t me!!
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It’s lovely to have some good Howards on board!.. 
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I first thought about learning Welsh when I was 8 when just after moving to North Shropshire from Singapore and got a small Welsh phrasebook from Caernarfon. Fast forward almost 35 years we upped sticks with a growing family of children to live in the Ceiriog Valley. I had an increasing number of occasions when I heard Welsh being spoken around me which reignited that ever niggling desire to learn. I was ‘pushed into action’ what I offered to help as first aider at a local sheep dog trials and quite a few people just assumed I was a Welsh speaker and it almost felt disrespectful that I couldn’t reply in Welsh.
I tried quite a few different courses first, all supposedly for beginners, some pretty good some totally awful. I was pounding the street in the run up to the 2016 Assembly elections and Mabon ap Gwynfor highly recommended SSiW so got to you that way.
There was something about it which seemed like an intuitive learning approach. The first unit of the old course initially seemed like hard work but I think that’s because it was so different to the other courses that I’d tried and it took a slight shift in the mindset of learning (for me anyway) to do SSiW
Learning wound down a bit during the summer holidays so I started in earnest at the beginning of the september school term while I was driving children around. I’ve dipped back into the other courses and realise the illogical way that they get you to learn. It reminds me of a routine that I saw a comedian do quite a few years all about learning French in school and all he remembered was ‘le singe est dans l’arbre’ and when on earth would he need to say that in French? Likewise I have no idea when I’d have the chance to use some of the things that some of the Welsh beginners courses I’d tried were getting me to learn.
Moments of the last few months have been intense, hard work, very rewarding and I’m aiming to finish level 1 (both old and new) by the end of the year then on to level 2. SSiW all seems to make sense, creating the correct building block to learn a spoken language. All the children have started the course recently so hopefully another household of Welsh speakers on the horizon!
Many, many thanks!
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Helo! Croeso! I had a French book about les petites souris! I’m not sure whether we were supposed to think France full of mice, or if they thought we were! I have been in France a number of times and never needed to mention mice!
@aran who comes up with courses like that?
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@henddraig I’ve seen some fascinating language over the years. I remember one I think for Hindi from the 1920’s which was so awfully colonial, master to servant stuff for the Raj. I remember a whole section on corporal punishment - handy phrases to punish by!
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Oh, fair play to Mabon…
And good luck with all the kids - I’ll be fascinated to hear how that goes… 
I just opened the book ‘Welsh in 3 Months’ to be faced with the chapter heading ‘The oblique relative clause’ clear as mud.
That in itself shows why SSiW is such a positive learning experience.
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I refuse to believe knowledge of such is necessary. I don’t remember oblique relative clauses in O Level English and I am said to be a reasonably fluent speaker and writer thereof!!
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Ouch! Yes, that kind of stuff always makes me want to shed a tear or two…
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My family come from Swansea and I find myself as the oldest remaining member of our family since my last remaining relative died last year. I remember, as a child, visiting my family who spoke Welsh at home and going to Swansea market on a Saturday with them and hearing them hold conversations in Welsh with the stall holders.
I am hugely proud of my welsh heritage, although living in England, and have had a long-standing desire to learn enough Welsh to have conversations. I’m also at that age where doing things to keep the brain active and challenged is a good thing 
and I wanted to set an example to my children who are struggling to learn French at school - if I can learn a new language from scratch…
So I spent a long time looking for evening classes, on-line resources and trying to listen to Welsh language podcasts - without success. I came across SSiW from a search on the App Store and went online to do some more research. I saw the incredibly supportive and positive forum and gave the first two challenges a go and was surprised at how much I had learned in just 2 sessions 
I’ve had some ups and downs with my learning some things taking longer to sink in than others; I’m now at level 1 challenge 21 and slowing down a bit due to the volume of things to remember. I do a bit everyday while driving and have kept faith in the process - as Aran advises and found that the things I thought I’d never get come tripping out! This keeps the motivation going to carry on.
Sorry for the rambling reply but thanks to all - it’s nice to feel part of this community.
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I had been learning Welsh enthusiastically, but more conventionally, in classes for 2 1/2 years and then I broke my leg and was stuck at home for several months. No classes, but not so sick that I couldn’t do an on-line course.
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I never knew that, Margaret! I wouldn’t ever have wished you a broken leg, but I’m sure we all have reason to be grateful for the positive results engendered by the breakage!! I suppose, thinking about it, I am here because being unable to walk far, when I was used to ambling miles, meant I had time to notice the hiraeth and also to realise that my chances over ever getting home again were negligible! Good things can come from bad events! 
To @daviessi Croeso! and thanks again for signing the petition! It is nice to meet a person from Abertawe Cymraeg! It seems to have been very patchy, which areas retained yr hen iaith and which became solidly English! The Chapel helped some areas, I know! I had friends who knew Bible Welsh, but did not speak it at home!
Some ended up in the classes I joined on Gower, back when, doing ‘Converational’,
To @aran, not conversational as we know it!
@henddraig, there’s lots of things you don’t know about me
It was about a month after my visit to Islay. We went to an art gallery on the island where I come across a postcard with the words
The Barn’s burnt down. I can see the moon.
Out of disaster, something good.
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Why SSiW? I saw Aran and Catrin on an S4C HWB interview on YouTube 4 days ago and thought I’d give it a try. I’m 3 Challenges in (repeated #1) and am really enjoying it!
Why do I want to learn Welsh at this stage in my life? My wife and I are watching Hinterland on Netflix and it triggered an internet discovery of Wales and the language. I am a British Citizen born in Liverpool, but have been living in the United States (Texas) for about 35 years. My mother had an aunt in Swansea whom I recall visiting a couple of times as a child. Back in the 1970’s when there were only 3 channels on British TV, BBC2 fascinated me with educational programs, frequent Welsh shows and the fact that it was still in black & white. My mother as a child vacationed in Wales every summer with her family and it’s one of those countries I’d really like to explore, someday (perhaps by narrowboat). Primarily, it’s to learn a second language, but I suppose the Welsh tongue has always called to me…
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Croeso! I hope, one day, your family will join the ranks of returning exiles!
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