llygoden

Dreaming in Welsh

2011-02-15T11:31:36Z

I haven't posted here for a while because the darkest part of winter happened, along with the snow and the cold and me stupidly taking on too much work. Anyway, it's not spring yet, but it's getting a bit lighter both in the morning and evening, the course with two groups had ended and I just have one OU group now, I handed in my final assignment for the BA Education course, so now my brain has woken up again I need to get on with my dissertation.

I have been working away quietly in the background at the Welsh. I've been attending the class each week and we are putting the finishing touches to our second play. (I'm not sure where we will be performing it yet, assuming we do get to do it live, but I have bought a pink wig!) I have also been doing the spaced repetition using flashcards for half to one hour each day.

This is the first time I've ever worked so steadily and continuously on the Welsh and it seems to be working. I'm not there yet, but there is definitely something going on in my brain and I think it's finally seeing and absorbing the patterns of the language and taking it to a deeper level. Knowing the rules of grammar intellectually is fine if you want to write in a language and have plenty of time to work things out and look things up if necessary, but it's no good if you want to actually speak to people; you just can't do it fast enough.

And I don't think it's my imagination that something is finally clicking because the other day I had my first proper dream in Welsh. I know the dream really was in Welsh because at the time I kept thinking that I mustn't let the people I was speaking to switch to English and at one point I couldn't remember the phrase I wanted so actually used the English words, then remembered the Welsh and repeated the sentence properly. (The phrase was "in case"/"rhag ofn"). It was only a fragment and the dream shifted, as they do, and slipped back into English, but I woke up thinking, "Oooo, er! Something's changing at last!"

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Started NaNo story at last!

2010-11-09T23:15:48Z

A mere 6 days late, I finally wrote the first words of my NaNo story. I haven't managed to add anything more since because I've been making progress with my new creative writing course and the research for the BA Education degree. However, I'm not too bothered. I started a week late last year and still made my target, but my aim this year is not so much to write any particular number of words, but just to see if I know enough of the language to be able to write in Welsh.

That is still an open question, but I've already learnt something. At the start of only the second sentence, I suddenly understood why the short form of the past tense is used when writing in Welsh. Without it, just about every sentence would begin with the word "Wnaeth". In speech, these things slide by unnoticed and anyway conversation is peppered with "you know" and "by the way" and "to tell the truth" and other such filler phrases which disguises the fact that you're using the same verb pattern over and over. People therefore only tend to use the short form past tense for a few common verbs, such as to speak or to go, but in writing, you need the variety.

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Unless I can get a brain upgrade, I'm going to have to stop trying to multi-task

2010-07-21T15:57:01Z

Benny Lewis has been posting his thoughts on passive listening as a technice for learning languages. (Basically he doesn't think it's much help.)

One of the things I realy like about the Welsh class I attend (Llanllawen) is that the methods used mean that you spend a lot more time speaking or actively listening than you do in a traditional class. I have to admit that I used to think that passive listening would be helpful. It does do some things: it gives a feeling for the rhythms of the language and helps you get used to the normal speaking speed, rather than the slower speed of a class. To this end, I always used to have the car radio tuned to Welsh radio (Radio Cymru) and I thought I was understanding what was said, but to be honest, most of the time I was only getting the gist of the items and wasn't really getting the detail. If I listened actively, on the other hand, I did find it useful for picking up vocabulary, as long as I wrote the words down and looked up the meaning later.

I think the idea of passive listening is appealing to those who are trying to squeeze language learning into a busy life. (And who of us isn't?) It appears to be a way of doing something each day to progress the learning.

Sort of related to this, I've just come to the conclusion that I might find it more productive to work in bursts of intensive study rather than fitting in thirty minutes to an hour each day over an extended period. I've been trying to do the latter, but it's not helping me to make progress, so I'm going to experiment with intensive
bursts once I come back from holiday and settle back into a routine again. I'd already realised that an intensive Welsh course of one week's duration involves as many hours of study as a once a week class for an entire academic year (70 hours). I always seemed to make a big leap forwards during an intensive week, not only with language knowledge but with confidence in speaking to others. It will be interesting to see if I can replicate this effect with self-study.

Unfortunately for the language learning, I teach creative writing, so if I'm responding to students' queries and commenting on their stories, my brain is so full of English, there's no room for the Welsh. I don't seem to be able to switch over fast enough to get enough useful work done. Instead, I think I'm going to have to arrange my work so I can dedicate two or three days or even a week if I can manage it to totally immersing myself in Welsh: reading, listening and speaking as much as possible and trying to avoid using English during that period.

Thinking about it, I do tend to be a burst writer when it comes to fiction and when I have assignments to do, I tend to drop everything else (at least as far as it's possible to do so) and focus solely on the essay. Most time management advice suggests assigning a time each day for each activity (eg Julie Morgenstern's time map) and this does work for some things, eg housework and paid work, but if it's two activities that each take up my whole brain capacity the system falls down. Though this might be something that isn't a problem to other, perhaps younger people, of course.

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The Welsh courses I will be examining for the dissertation

2010-07-06T17:24:36Z

My mind map is now sprawling all over the place and I need to start seriously settling down to the literature review, but I realised I hadn't blogged for a while, so I thought I'd quickly list the courses I want to examine during the research for the Dissertation.

One aspect that I need to think about relates to student motivation and hence retention. Almost all the current Welsh courses begin with colloquial language, but become more academic and literary when you get to the higher levels. The class I attend (Llanllawen) is the only one that doesn't and our tutor is trying to pioneer ways of keeping a course focused on practical, everyday language whilst at the same time tackling longer and more complex sentences. Is this good or bad? Is it necessary to be able to read and write the language, or is it enough to be able to speak confidently? Is Llanllawen neglecting something important, or is its popularity with students an indication that the spoken language is what most adult learners want.

In fact, what do adult learners want? I suspect that colleges haven't really given this much thought. Another thing on the list to be investigated.

Anyway, over the next 9 months or so, my research will be focusing on the following courses:

Llanllawen (colloquial Welsh throughout): This is the course that I personally attend and have done so for 4 years. This is the longest I've ever stuck with a course, so that says something right away. This course is very different from any others and the method basically boils down to learning stories by heart. In case this sounds dull, the tutor has devised many ways of making it fun, such as word bingo and miming sentences. I'll say more about this next week because an academic is coming up from Cardiff University to talk to us about the course, how we feel about it and how effective it is. Grammar is explained in the lessons, but only in context and as it arises in the story. Non-technical language is used at all times to talk about the grammar. (Terms like "glue" are used instead of "preposition".) Questions of a technical nature about grammar are usually headed off at the pass whereas in other classes I've attended, they are often used as a way of diverting the tutor from the lesson so the students don't have to actually say anything.

Wlpan or Entry 1/Mynediad 1: It's many years since I did Wlpan so I'll need to familiarise myself with the current version. It is colloquial and based on everyday language. However, sentences are studied in isolation rather than as part of a story. There is pair work where students practise the patterns learned that week.

L196 Croeso: beginners' Welsh (Open University): I have signed up for the course starting in November, so I'll know more about it when I get the materials! Although it says that you don't need any prior knowledge and I've been learning for umpty-mumble years, it claims to reach roughly GCSE level (grades A-C), Scottish standard Grades 1 and 2 and the WJEC’s Defnyddio'r Gymraeg: Sylfaen (Use of Welsh: Foundation) level. The level is also supposed to be comparable to A2 as defined by the Council of Europe. This is probably much more basic than my current level of spoken Welsh, but as I've spent 4 years without doing any writing, it should help with the written aspects of language. (I then plan to take the Defnyddio'r Gymraeg (Use of Welsh) exam next May.) Also I get to see a completely different way of teaching using distance learning and technology such as online audio conferencing.

Intensive courses: These come in various lengths...

Day courses: such as the Sadwrn Siarad (Speaking Saturday) held at the local college every so often.

Weekends: for example at the Welsh Language centre at Nant Gwrtheyrn.

A week or more: I have attended these in Aberystwyth and Denbighshire. G did one that he found very beneficial in Coleg Harlech. I see that Bangor Universty also run them.

So, that's a quick run down of what the study will involve as I attempt to answer the question:

How can a college enable a student to become a confident and fluent speaker of a language?

By the way, though I'm focusing on Welsh for obvious reasons, any comments about methods or courses that you have found particularly useful or particularly offputting are very welcome, whatever language you are learning.

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I finally have a use for Twitter

2010-06-26T15:29:04Z

green_knight has been posting here about the various online fora and their pros and cons.

Personally, after a brief flirtation with Twitter last year, I stopped using it, though I do look in there occasionally. Twitter seems to work best as an ongoing, something that you do in the background through the day, sort of thing and that just doesn't suit me. I've been feeling very vague and scattered recently, so in an attempt to be more focused, I'm trying to allocate a certain amount of time to online activities and otherwise keep offline as much as possible, but if you don't keep up with Twitter, it becomes a meaningless jumble.

Having said that, I have finally found a use for it. I have started Tweeting in Welsh...

Those of you who have been reading this LJ for a while may remember that I changed my LJ name a couple of years ago. I didn't drop the llygoden account, but I resolved to use it to blog in Welsh. Unfortunately, that proved something of a vain hope. Writing a post of a decent length was too hard to do regularly, but then I had the brilliant idea of using Twitter. Sadly, llygoden was already taken, but I now have a new Twitter account in the name of crwbanbach ("little tortoise") and the Tweets are being posted to LJ at the end of each day.[*]

I've searched around and found a few people who Tweet in Welsh and I'm following them. This gives me a bit of practice at reading random bits of Welsh and so far, other than yesterday when I couldn't get a good enough signal on the dongle while in Caerleon, I have maintained my goal of writing at least one Tweet per day.

I'm going to suggest to the people in my Welsh class that this could be a good way of practising because what looks rather feeble in a blog post is exactly what Twitter requires. :)

[*] You are, naturally, welcome to follow me at crwbanbach, but I won't add you back unless you're Tweeting in Welsh. My other Twitter account is mhhall and that's where I follow people I know.

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How to spot a Welsh speaker in the wild

2010-06-14T18:03:45Z

In this post, I'm going to look at a common problem that Welsh learners encounter, namely spotting a native speaker in the wild.

There is a prevalent myth that Welsh people only speak Welsh in public to annoy the English. Time and time again, I've heard people claim that while they were standing outside the shop, they could hear that the conversation was in English, but the moment they cross the threshold, it turns to Welsh to exclude them. Well, I've lived in Wales for over 30 years and I can say categorically that it just never happens.

If only it were true!

If it were true, we Welsh learners would have no difficulty at all in finding people to practice with. ( More thoughts behind here... )

Basically, you have to be alert. Some shops and cafes display a sign saying that Welsh is spoken there. Very occasionally, someone may wear a badge conveying the same message. I have one that says Dw i'n dysgu Cymraeg (I'm learning Welsh (see icon)) and there was an equivalent one given out for people who were willing to speak with learners. However, speaking personally, I never spot the "Welsh spoken here" sign until I'm half way through the transaction. All you can do then is remember for next time. From now on, one of my goals is to make a list of places that do have Welsh speaking staff. I'm also going to try to make a note of which of the checkout staff at the Co-op are Welsh speaking because some are and some aren't.

Otherwise, keep your ears open. What language did the person in front of you use when speaking to the shop assistant? If it's Welsh, then it's safe for you to do the same.

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Persuading natives to talk to you in Welsh

2010-06-09T22:07:39Z

You would think that living in Wales it would be easy to learn Welsh to the point of being fluent and using it in every day situations. Well, you would be wrong!

I was actually somewhat reassured to read that it's not just a problem here in Wales. I have to admit that I'd always assumed that if I lived in France or Italy, I would speak the langauge fluently by now, and I'm sure I would have been forced to use it far more than I do here, but it seems that the problem is a common one.

However, in Wales the problem is magnified by the fact that everyone -- apart from toddlers in families whose first language is Welsh and perhaps the very occasional elderly person -- is much more comfortable speaking fluent English to you rather than hear you struggle with their own language. (And I suspect that the situation is even worse in Ireland and Scotland for those wanting to speak Gaelic.)

I used to get frustrated by this. I would think, They say they want to preserve Welsh, surely they want people to learn the language? So why aren't they encouraging me? Well, there are lots of reasons, some of them obvious, others more subtle and complex. Here are just a few. ( Behind a cut because it will probably get a bit long... )

There are probably more reasons, but those will do to be going on with. I will write about possible ways around these problems in another post.

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Working out how to get off the plateau

2010-06-07T14:51:51Z

I was going to do a detailed account of all my attempts to learn Welsh, dating back more years than I care to admit, but to be honest, it's not relevant, so I won't bother.

In fact my history of learning Welsh can be summed up as follows:

* Make an effort.
* Sail along happily for a bit.
* It gets hard.
* Trudge across plateau for a while.
* Lose heart.
* Give up.

(Rinse and repeat and intervals of 5-10 years.)

Each time I pushed on a bit further, so each time the plateau was at a higher level, but I could never actually get to the point where I used the language conversationally, so unless I was consciously pursuing the study in some way, by doing a weekly class or attending intensive study weeks, I made no progress and started to forget what I'd already learned.

I was hoping that the class that I'm attending at the moment (Llanllawen) would finally get me all the way to fluent, but I'm still plateauing and, because I've been focusing so much on the degree courses I'm studying, the Welsh has slid -- yet again...

However... The courses are done and the assignments handed in, so now it's the turn of the Welsh.

As I said last week, I found Benny the Irish Polyglot's blog and I've been following some of his advice. The first step was to decide where I want to be at the end of 3 months. As I'm not starting from scratch, I want to be able to:

* Speak Welsh confidently enough to have a 15 minute conversation about reasonably complex subjects. (In other words, more than just passing the time of day and talking about the weather.)

If I achieve that, I will then see about joining the Merched y Wawr (lit. Daughters of the Dawn) who are the Welsh equivalant of the WI. If I can get to the point of attending meetings and social events in Welsh, the rest of the learning will occur more naturally as I use the language regularly.

Something my Welsh tutor MB said last year struck home. If we really knew everything in the four books we've studied, we would have enough Welsh to communicate in every day life.

What she said is true, so my plan is to go back to the beginning and really learn the work. I have therefore been working on the first two stories from Books 1 and 2.

(More on the Llanllawen method in my next post.)

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Statement of intent

2010-05-31T17:32:34Z

I set up this Dreamwidth account in the flurry of interest when Dreamwidth was all new, but I've never really done anything with it. However, at last I have thought of a sensible use it can be put to.

For my dissertation for the BA Education course, I'm going to research into the Llanllawen method of learning Welsh. (This is the method invented by the tutor of the class I've been going to for the last 4 years.) In tandem with this, I also want to finally get to the stage where I can confidently use Welsh, rather than just being stuck at the "learner" stage.

Completely by chance, from a remark in paragraphs's LiveJournal about learning German, I was led via a Google search and a couple of links to this really useful blog about becoming fluent in a language. Having spent far longer than I should have done browsing the blog (I'm supposed to be writing an assignment!), I bought Benny's eBook and I've started to work through it. One of the things he suggests is keeping a log of your progress, a public one if possible, to help keep you honest.

Ta-da!

So here it is. From now on, I'll do a post at least weekly talking about my progress with the Welsh learning and also (when I get to that point), I'll talk about my research. I'm also going to cross-post these posts to my LiveJournal heleninwales, so you can read and comment in either place, but using my Dreamwidth account means that I will have one blog solely devoted to the Welsh learning issue in case I want to point anyone to it and they won't have to wade through posts about photography and writing and What I Did On My Day Out etc.

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