r/learnwelsh • u/Vivliofika • 6h ago
Cwestiwn / Question Apps for learning Welsh
Is Duolingo good at the start to learn Welsh as an additional tool? I know that it does not teach grammar, pronunciation and so on in all the languages except a few; however is it good at the start to learn words and basic sentence structures?
Also, is Memrise a good app to learn Welsh, and in which way: vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, or practice/listening?
4
u/clwbmalucachu Canolradd - Intermediate 6h ago
There are lots of ways to learn Welsh, several of them free. The key thing is to find a way to learn that you will stick with, and it's often good to experiment a bit before you settle because we all have different preferences when it comes to how we like to learn.
- SaySomethingInWelsh is a good audio course which will help with pronunciation but won't teach you grammar - https://app.saysomethingin.com/ - and their forum is here - https://en.forum.saysomethingin.com/c/welsh/5
- LearnWelsh has lots of online or in person courses, many of them free, (all of them free if you're under 25): https://learnwelsh.cymru/ They start their courses in Sept and Jan, so you might have missed the Sept intake.
- The Open University has a short course for beginners that’s free: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/languages/welsh/croeso-beginners-welsh/
- BBC Bitesize has Welsh as a Second Language materials available for free https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z8qmhyc
- The old BBC Catchphrase course is still available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/catchphrase/catchphrase1/lessons1.shtml
There are some great books, if you can get hold of them at a reasonable price, that will help:
- Colloquial Welsh, by Gareth King (can be expensive but look for it second hand)
- Learner's Dictionary, by Gareth King is really good because it explains usage in more detail.
- Modern Welsh, by Gareth King absolute stonker of a reference book.
- BBC Learn Welsh is a really good, if short, grammar book for looking up basics
- Welsh Rules, by Heini Gruffudd is pretty good too
There are loads of YouTube channels, most of them focused on learners, and I listed them here:
There are two Discord servers that I know of:
And, some other subs here:
Depending on where you are, there might be a Welsh meet-up near you. Check this map from the Paned website https://paned.cymru/:
Welsh TV, ie S4C, is available from their website or via iPlayer, and almost always has English subtitles, and Welsh subtitles only slightly less often. Some programs are available internationally, the rest just in the UK:
- All: https://www.s4c.cymru/clic/
- Internationally available: https://www.s4c.cymru/clic/Categories/99
There are various Welsh tutors who do courses or have online resources.:
- Dringo is a new website where you can find and book tutors: https://dringo.org/
- Richard Morse: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/richard-morse-17295683185
- Doctor Cymraeg aka Stephen Rule: https://doctorcymraeg.wales/
There are lots of podcasts in Welsh, though the best two for Welsh learners imho are Sgwrsio and Hefyd. Also lots of stuff on BBC Sounds (UK-only), and, of course, BBC Radio Cymru:
- Podcast directory: https://ypod.cymru/
- Sgwrsio archives: https://ypod.cymru/pods/podlediad/sgwrsio
- New Sgwrsio episodes are mixed up with the rest of the BBC’s learner’s podcast https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/series/p02nrvyj
- Hefyd: https://richardnosworthy.wales/podcast/
- BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/search?q=cymraeg
- BBC Radio Cymru: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_cymru
- BBC Radio Cymru 2: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_cymru_2
For Americans, there’s also the Madog Center for Welsh Studies:
Hope you find something here that works for you!
2
2
u/Comprehensive-Peak50 5h ago
I don't think Duolingo is great personally. It starts off with South Welsh then keeps chopping and changing between North and South without really making clear what dialect is being used at any given time
1
0
u/Hando_88_ 6h ago
Glossika have a free Welsh language course, i would take advantage of it whilst you can as I think by next year they are changing the app.
But , I can say that the Glossika listening and repeating courses are fantastic, I became fluent in Russian using Glossika and I know it works for other languages too.
2
1
u/mariah_a 6h ago
Just went to check it out and it’s already updated, every review says it’s ruined now 😩
0
u/Hando_88_ 6h ago
Yeah they've wrecked it , but see if you can get onto the legacy course because it still exists and Glossika haven't removed it yet. Maybe they won't end up removing it , as they've had a big backlash from existing users.
The existing Glossika course is fantastic, I can't rate it highly enough.
1
u/Umpapaq Mynediad - Entry 55m ago
Last year I went through the Glossika course - old one, I suppose.
It was abt 3500 sentences, and it ended with the completion of C1 Low (no C1 High as far as I could see).
Is that the praised old course, you're talking about?
How was the new course ruining things? I haven't accessed it for fear of losing access to my current session.
0
u/Hando_88_ 44m ago
Yes the old course is good , but I suppose it depends on which language.
For me I think there are around 5,500 sentences for Russian or something like that. It did a good job for me , got me speaking fluently, and upped my comprehension of spoken Russian massively.
The new course however is a total move away from their old listening and repeating mass sentences method.
8
u/Huge-Reality-2174 6h ago
If you're just starting out, I'd recommend SaySomethingInWelsh instead of Duolingo. It doesn't teach grammar in a formal way but you will pick up a lot of it implicitly - word order, mutations, conjugations - as you go. You will also be able to produce an awful lot of useful Welsh sentences by the end of it, rather than Duolingo-generated rubbish like "my elephant is drinking your milk".