Learning a Language with Technology

I discovered some free audio lessons on the Internet on a site called Say Something in Welsh. I bought a little MP3 player and downloaded the lessons into it. I walk the dogs every evening so I take the player and headphones and mutter along. These lessons are really good. I had tried other audio series years ago, but they spoke sentences so fast, I couldn’t tell where one word ended and another word began. I gave up on that one. These lessons are very organized and they repeat words so that I am able to follow along.

I also listen to BBC Cymru, a radio station that broadcasts in Welsh, on my computer. I still don’t know enough to really understand what they are talking about, but it is amazing how words that I do know pop out at me. It inspires me to learn more so that I can follow the conversation. I think we have this urge to understand built in.

I just bought a good low-tech dictionary too. The Welsh words are spelled and pronounced very differently from the other languages I have tried to learn. This dictionary has a good pronunciation and grammar sections and has useful tips scattered throughout the book.

Sometimes I use Goggle Translate. It’s a good shortcut although it doesn’t always understand what I want.

I also started a blog to practice writing in Welsh. I really have to use the dictionary and Google Translate a lot to write even the shortest sentences. Writing is much harder than speaking.

I remember words by associating them with some visualization. When I hear a word like the Welsh “to drink,” I see the word in my head as “ovid.” It is actually “yfed.” I think the instructors are absolutely right. It is easier to listen and learn than to start off reading and writing. I remember the word for “to need” as “onion.” It’s really “angen.” I have never forgotten that word though.

I try to make up my own sentences and talk to the dogs in Welsh. I use Welsh words to make out my shopping lists (with English in tiny letters in case I forget.)