Enjoy practising your Welsh – learners’ ideas
Welsh learners have shared their ideas for practising their Welsh as part of a summer challenge, ‘Her yr Haf’, set by the National Centre for Learning Welsh.
Learning the Welsh folk song ‘Oes gafr eto’ by watching Cerys Matthews’ video, reading the Welsh autobiography of Wynne ‘Go Compare’ Evans and chatting with Welsh-speaking friends and relatives are among the ideas.
The aim of ‘Her yr Haf’ is to encourage learners to practise their Welsh skills over the summer holiday period in order to gain confidence and prepare for the new courses starting in September.
Many learners turned to the natural world to practise, learning Welsh bird names such as ‘bronfraith’ (thrush), ‘telor y cnau’ (nuthatch) and ‘teiliwr Llundain’ (goldfinch).
Others enjoyed virtual events such as Cardiff’s Welsh language festival, Tafwyl, the Eisteddfod AmGen (alternative eisteddfod) and music festival, Sesiwn Fawr Digidol. Many also enjoyed speaking with learners from across Wales and the world in virtual coffee mornings and conversation groups.
Keeping a diary is another way of practising, while reading Welsh magazines such as Golwg and Lingo and other books for learners, and watching S4C, also helps learners strengthen their Welsh skills.
Helen Prosser, Director of Teaching and Learning at the National Centre for Learning Welsh, said:
“It’s important to take advantage of every opportunity to use the language when you’re learning Welsh and it’s part of the fun of learning a new language. We’re delighted our learners have succeeded in practising their Welsh over the summer, using virtual and online methods during this period of social distancing. We’re also looking forward to welcoming everyone back to their new courses in September.”
