Learning a language in a place where it is not spoken (like learning - or brushing up on) Welsh in Milton Keynes is extremely frustrating at times. I often muse on the irony that were I working on my French or Italian (and oh yes, I hope to get back to these once I feel the Welsh is settled enough) it would be easier to find resources - and spaces in which to practice. I could get French radio - and possibly Italian; and I could certainly find classes in both. But I have not bumped into people who speak Welsh in Milton Keynes - though I have to admit to not having done a thorough search, and must do that as I am sorely feeling the need to talk to someone other than the mp3 track (yes, in my darkest moments I comment out aloud - in Welsh of course - on the latest happenings in the soap opera). However, there are silver linings and all that. As there are no Welsh bookshops to hand, I buy resources from a website called Gwales that sells both Welsh and English titles (of books by Welsh authors, about Wales, etc etc). It's a bit hit and miss because sometimes the descriptions are a bit short - and of course, sometimes there are bits of the synopsis I don't understand. (This is usually a huge CLUE that I will find the book hard). However, it does mean that every now and then a parcel arrives in the post - and it is like Christmas all over again! My recent parcel (today!!) included my first Welsh DVD (of a programme from the Welsh TV channel); a magazine; one of the Welsh learner books and then I pushed the boat out and bought a book of short stories by well known Welsh authors. I tried one by a woman who came from the same village as my father, and who is pretty well known in Wales (in fact the village - whose population must be pretty small - boasts two famous Welsh authors) and this particular story proved to be fairly hard going, but I shall keep trying. I failed to keep up my however many new words to learn a day - but I have been let us say engaging with Welsh on a regular, probably daily basis since Christmas. I have been using two main resources: the Welsh soap opera that I mentioned before and Welsh books (and now of course I have some new unread ones - I was having to re-read ones I had previously read!) I have run into trouble on the soap though - I download it from the BBC - and the episodes just run out when you get to number 110 - so now I will never know whether Arwen dies having been stabbed by Chris - how could the BBC do this?
I have got to the end and not mentioned heritage language learning - so that will now have to wait for the next post............watch this space
