Swansea-born Heini Gruffudd has spent his life teaching Welsh to children and adults, has for many years been at the forefront of the campaign for Welsh-language education, and is a prolific author of successful and popular materials for Welsh learners. The original version of 'Welcome to Welsh' has sold 70,000 copies since it was first published in 1984. 'Welsh is Fun', by the same author, has sold over 200,000 copies. Other titles include 'The Welsh Learner's Dictionary', 'Welsh Rules' and 'Talk Welsh'. His book 'Yr Erlid' won the Wales Book of the Year creative non-fiction award in 2013.
This has always been a popular book for the Welsh language
beginner, a really fun and relaxed way to learn the language
through cartoon/illustration and easy exercises.
Items that appear in the background of the cartoons are arrowed and
named i.e. plant/cloc so that these things are (hopefully)
remembered along the way. At the beginning of the book the sentence
‘Siaradwch yn arafach. Rydw i’n dysgu Cymraeg’ (Speak slower. I am
learning Welsh) is very useful, as most often when one is trying to
learn it is easy to be put off by the speed replies from another
person.
We are taken through various scenarios in the book – the football
match, at the petrol station, in the restaurant –and we get an idea
how people converse with each other on a daily basis, rather than
trying to handle long exercises in written grammar. The ‘Say and
translate’ sections reinforce the learner’s knowledge, as do the
questions laid out to allow for practice. The two-page
illustrations of whole scenes, eg 'the lounge', is a quick way of
learning vocabulary. There are thorough references to grammar and
numbers, the time and mutations. There is also a dictionary at the
back – Welsh to English and English to Welsh.
A really nice book to have to hand regularly.
*Clare Maynard @ www.gwales.com*
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