SaySomethingInWelsh forces you to speak, and you have to anticipate the correct answer, so there’s no ‘parroting’, no passive repetition. You need to understand what you’re saying and you need to say it quickly. The speed at which you have to listen seems pretty much the normal speed at which the language is spoken, so it has the feel of good authentic Welsh, not something presented at half-speed, and you have to get used to listening to Welsh spoken at something like a real-life speed.

It’s also very good for bringing alive the stuff which you’ve done in formal classes, for revising and consolidating what you already ‘know’ but can’t necessarily say at a moment’s notice. Cuts out all that hesitation as you formulate what you’re saying, because with SaySomethinginWelsh you’ve already said it, and said it confidently.

This course has given me much more confidence in speaking – I don’t feel so ‘apologetic’ about what I’m saying, and this I think makes me easier to understand. And because I sound as though I’m confident about what I’m saying, people are more ready to answer in Welsh rather than switching over to English straight away. People can obviously see that I’m just a learner, but the confidence which arises from speaking with the course makes me sound as though I mean business. Because the course is a spoken course, not a ‘grammar’ course, you end up speaking confidently and people respond to that. As a result, I find I’m using Welsh much more often, in situations where I might have chickened out before. So, more real-life practice, more learning from native-speakers in authentic (real!) situations – in the DIY woodyard, at the cinema, with other passengers on the bus, in the slate museum, etc, etc.

We’re all different, so it’s hard to give anyone else ‘advice’, but I think this course will be good for anyone who wants to use the language in real life, not just as some kind of language exercise or game to be played with other learners or to show some kind of token interest in things Welsh. And I think it ENABLES you to speak Welsh like no other course. It’s extremely practical.

Dave Morgan, Edern