New website aims to bridge the gap for intermediate Welsh learners

Jules Millward

A new online learning platform is aiming to tackle what its founder describes as a “huge gap” in provisions for intermediate Welsh learners.

Ymestyn, which launched just a few weeks ago, offers games, quizzes and flashcards to help learners memorise crucial Welsh grammar, and provides themed exercises to help intermediate Welsh learners expand their vocabulary, build confidence and cement their grasp of Welsh grammar.

The platform was created in response to the Welsh Government’s ambition of reaching one million Welsh speakers by 2050.

While resources have grown significantly in recent years, the site’s founder, Suw Charman-Anderson, believes learners often struggle once they reach an intermediate stage.

She said: “Most courses, however good they are, introduce a new grammatical concept, do a bit of practice, and then move on to the next idea. Although the tutors I’ve had have been amazing, they can’t spend huge amounts of time on one topic.

“We all learn at our own pace and we frequently need to go back to an idea several times before we’ve really internalised it. But exactly which ideas and how often we need to revisit them will vary from person to person.”

Suw continued: “Ymestyn solves that problem by ensuring that each section stands alone and can be repeated as often as needed. So if a learner wants to focus on memorising auxiliary (helper) verbs, like ‘do’, ‘can’, ‘could’, etc, then they are easily able to do that, but if they’d rather focus on new vocabulary, then they can do that too.

“Learners aren’t locked into a predetermined pathway, so they can go back and forth between sections however they wish.”

Ymestyn builds on learning completed via SaySomethinginWelsh or Dysgu Cymraeg’s courses, providing learners with resources to cement their language skills and grow their vocab list.

Suw added: “If you’re a beginner, you are over-served, with lots of material to get you started. But as soon as you become more proficient, you either have to wade through materials that are too simple for you, or tackle content for fluent speakers that’s too complex.

“But there’s no point getting hundreds of thousands of people starting their Welsh language journey if they aren’t supported all the way through to fluency. And right now, they are not.”

Suw Charman-Anderson has been learning Welsh since 1998 and launched ClwbMaluCachu.co.uk, one of the earliest sites for Welsh leaners on the internet, in 2001.

Knowing how difficult it can be to learn a new language, she said she is “on a mission” to become fluent herself and to help others raise their skill levels and confidence.

She has drawn on her own experience as a self-taught learner and knows only too well how easy it is to muddle through to intermediate level without truly memorising verb conjugations, mutations, and noun plurals and genders.

Courses are currently available from just £5 per calendar month and you can find Ymesten’s website here.