Learn Welsh online with the WI: The experience of a beginner!

Guest blog by Jill Rundle, Llandogo WI member and Chair of Gwent Federation

I was more than a little bit interested when I first heard that an online Welsh Course was being offered to WI members. During my school days, I had to move around quite a bit and at the age of 12 my family moved from England to Wales and I went to school in Cardiff. Welsh was an optional subject at the time, as was Latin, but the school felt that there wasn’t much to be gained by allowing me to take Welsh - I would never be able to catch up! My father was Welsh but it was not his first language. To add insult to injury I was then barred from joining the school choir, as I couldn’t speak Welsh. It wouldn’t be allowed these days and tells you a lot about attitudes to teaching children over sixty years ago.

If there is one thing that makes me even more interested in doing something, it is being told that I can’t. In the intervening years I have lived in and out of Wales but finally returned 13 years ago. In those 13 years, I have tried on numerous occasions to sign up for Welsh courses, but for one reason or another, it was not possible. I even tried to join a new U3A Welsh Group for beginners in Chepstow a couple of years ago, but the group decided to meet on the one day of the week when I had a regular commitment which I could not cancel.

Still smarting all those years later from being barred from taking Welsh as an option at school and being barred from the school choir, I became quite excited when I learned of the online course via My WI. But how to find the time, that was the problem. Then, out of the blue, along came COVID-19. This was a never to be repeated opportunity - suddenly I had a clear diary, well to start with I did.

I went onto My WI and clicked on the link. All did not go well, I like things to happen immediately and they didn’t. Was this going to be another failed attempt I asked myself? But no, Rhian and Kelly in the Wales Office came to my rescue and in no time at all I had logged in.

The course looked good, six modules to complete and once started you could go in and come out at any time, very useful if you aren’t sure how much time you have available at any one sitting. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of telling one or two others that I was doing it. I was committed, I had to finish.

The modules were great, loads of practice with the possibility of starting a module again if it was necessary. I sailed through the first five modules and was looking forward to finishing the final one. I started this one evening and was halfway through when I was disturbed by a telephone call. It was too late to go back in and finish it that evening but, as many people have been heard to say during the lockdown, there was always tomorrow. But tomorrow didn’t come for several weeks and when I eventually tried to log back in the site was unavailable. It was a Friday evening and I continued to try all over the weekend to no avail. I had to wait until Monday when Rhian and Kelly at the Wales Office once again got me back on.

That evening I sat down at the laptop - a driven woman, determined to finish, and finally, I did. The feeling of achievement was immense. The screen announced, “Congratulations, you have successfully completed the course”. There was also the invitation to revisit any of the modules at a later date if revision became necessary.

The course is only an introduction to speaking Welsh but it is geared towards the words that are likely to be heard at any NFWI Wales event. Although it is not an aim of the course, it has helped me with reading Welsh words in general and it is surprising how much additional vocabulary can be picked up visually.

I live in Monmouthshire, an area which is not noted for a high percentage of Welsh speakers. However, I have one or two people who are willing to help me practice what I have picked up and hopefully eventually to develop my conversational Welsh. My daughter teaches English but lives in France and she always recommends her students to watch children’s cartoons in the language they are learning. I understand that Sponge Bob Square Pants is on S4C - I must give it a try! Why don’t you? It’s great fun!

Find out more: https://learnwelsh.cymru/news/womens-institute/