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Learners' Resources: Online Language Lessons

© Sarah Stevenson

Now that you've read all those dauntingly long articles about the history of Welsh, you're probably more than ready to start learning the language, right? This time I'll be dealing solely with Welsh lessons available on the Internet. Although this is by no means a complete list, I've picked what I think are the most helpful and comprehensive online lessons available for beginners. Most are free-of-charge. You can also visit Celtic Internet Resources on Suite101.com, Harry Campbell's Gwybodiadur, and BBC Catchphrase for more information about where to find Welsh lessons online.

Free Lessons

BBC Catchphrase/Cam Ymlaen/Dyma'r Newyddion
This is probably my favorite site for free online Welsh lessons. The BBC has put together a comprehensive resource for learners from absolute beginners to more advanced speakers. The Catchphrase 2001 pages are meant for the beginning student, and contain over 52 weekly Catchphrase Lessons that you can view online, download and print out, or listen to via audio files. Catchphrase 2001 also contains a number of situation-based lessons, in which the learner can eavesdrop on conversations in a fictitious family. For intermediate students, there's Cam Ymlaen, a 34-week series of lessons. More advanced students can learn the language as it's used on TV, radio, and in newspapers through Dyma'r Newyddion (Here's the News). BBC Catchphrase has an online newsletter as well as an absolutely huge list of links. All the material is well-presented, high-quality, and entertaining, and the site is easy to navigate.

Mark Nodine's Welsh Course
Although this site has not been recently updated, it contains a nice set of lessons for the beginning student who wants to focus on simple conversational Welsh. The first lesson, Pronunciation, contains sound files. There are sample sentences and conversations, exercises, appendices, a spell-checker, and the ever-useful online lexicon. I find myself using the online dictionary frequently when I'm writing e-mail in Welsh and don't have my Geiriadur Bach (Little Dictionary) handy.

Dal Ati!
Put together by Linda Sherman, Dal Ati! (Welsh for "keep at it!") contains some articles about grammar and vocabulary for learners, as well as handy reference charts for verb conjugation, prepositions, mutations, and so forth. There is also a series of 15 lessons, Tamaid o Gymraeg (A Bit of Welsh), introducing simple vocabulary and conversation. Each lesson includes sample sentences and practice exercises. The site overall is aimed at beginning and intermediate learners. It is a little hard to navigate, but it's full of useful information and fun tidbits.

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