Novels for learners

One resource I am currently using quite a lot is novels in Welsh written for learners. The advantages of these seem to me to be that the narrative pulls me along and engages me in continuing with the book and at the same time it is much more accessible than Welsh books 'in the wild' as it were. Also, they come with some notes and vocabulary - so cann often be read without a dictionary to hand. Of course the downside is that as with most 'teaching' material - which in some sense the teacher/designer has to decide/guess what level the learner is at. In this case, this means deciding which words are likely to be unfamiliar and therefore need translating. For me, it is often the case that I know some of these words but don't know others in the text. However, there is of course another advantage of the novel as a way of building up vocabulary and generally being immersed in the language and that is that it is often quite possible to guess words from the context.

I don't know how it works in other languages but in Welsh there are commissioned series of such books and many are written by acclaimed authors - so there is the benefit of having a book written by a good author. The other thing that works really well is that you have a light, handy resource - in this case low tech (more on technology based resources in future posts!) which is idea for taking on a bus, as I did this morning. (Not good for cycling which is my main mode of transport) And great for a train which I will be on this afternoon. Currently my way of working with these is mainly to read and highlight new words and sometimes also write in the translation in pencil. I do find acquiring new vocabulary hard but another advantage of these is that they repeat new words - so in my current book one of the characters is having driving lessons so I may just remember the words for instructor, driving test etc by the end.

I guess the main disadvantage is that unless as a learner I look for ways to actively use the language from the boom - e.g. write something or talk about it, I am not getting experience and practising in using but in reading (but this is true for any reading). It also means being open to reading all kinds of stories that one might not ideally choose as the choice is much more limited - so I have found myself reading about highwaymen ((NOT my usual choice of reading); pirates; the trials of small businesses (that brought in some useful vocabulary) and so on.

Getting started

I have finally decided to have a go at blogging about my language learning. I am brushing up my Welsh which I first learn when I was 4 - so it is my second language but I have forgotten so much of it over the years having been away from Wales for 35 years or so. I think I have two challenges: the first is grammar: that I was never taught grammar (because I was treated as a 'native' speaker at school as apparently my Welsh was too good to be allowed in the learner classes when we did our compulsory Welsh O levels); and the second is BIG gaps in vocabulary. When I was in Wales there was no Welsh TV, or parliament and I never learnt the terminology commonly used in the news etc - but I can talk about farm animals quite happily! Despite not being in the learner class in school, my grammar was not very good and hence I never passed my Welsh language O level - so maybe a challenge for the future.
So I want to reflect on my (re-) learning, perhaps be in contact with other Welsh learners and re-learners - and take some tentative steps into blogging.......................