Twitter in Welsh - #dysgu

Are you learning Welsh and want to try it out when you have a spare moment? Maybe your cat, dog or hamster isn't that responsive when you try it out on them. Well, I am a learner who needs to practice (Rhaid i fi ymarfer!) and I am doing this when I can on Twitter. It has the advantage of letting me type up to 140 characters .. therefore I get to try out short phrases that we have used in class and it forces me to think about how I can say something about what I have done or I am doing. I don't feel that I need to create long complicated sentences that are beyond me at the moment.

I have started to add the word #dysgu to my posts. In this way, if someone searches for #dysgu on Twitter, they will see all of the posts. Anyone can post to this topic - all that you need to do is get a Twitter account, enter your message and add #dysgu (including the hash) into the message; it does not matter where you put #dysgu - it can be at the start, in the middle or at the end. When anyone searches for #dysgu, they will see all of the posts. For example, you could create a new message such as 'Bore da pawb. Sut dych chi? #dysgu'.

You can see some posts I have made at http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23dysgu. Ahem, yes, there are some (a lot of) mistakes, but it is only by trying to type some Welsh that I actually ask questions about ... 'do I need a mutation there?' or 'how would I say...?'.

There is nothing magical about #dysgu, it is simply a common term. I am on a mynediad (entry) course. Maybe you are much more advanced - if so, you could choose a suitable term, e.g. #canolradd, so that people can search for messages that are at a level suitable to them.

If you are not familiar with Twitter, I have created a short video on YouTube that shows the main points. You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhnlqrD2h9M. 

I am going to continue to post on #dysgu. If you would like to join in and try out your Welsh, simply go to http://twitter.com/ and start tweeting.

P.S. If you are a Mac user, you may be wondering where the # key is. You need to press the Alt key and 3 at the same time.

Welsh For Adults - Example Exam Papers

The WJEC runs exams for Welsh for Adults courses twice a year. They have some entry level exam papers available for recent years at: WJEC Past Papers. 

Lingo Newydd

Lingo Newydd is a magazine for Welsh learners.  It is published by Golwg, which also produces a weekly magazine of the same name. Lingo Newydd contains articles which are colour coded to indicate the level of difficulty. The magazine is written entirely in Welsh, but there are translations of key words from the articles. A great resources for learners.
If you live in Aberystwyth, then you can easily pick up copies from Siop Inc or Siop y Pethe. It should be easy to obtain copies elsewhere, or you can contact Golwg for subscription information.

iPhone Application

There is a Welsh learners application available for the iPhone. Welsh Lessons is a Welsh phrase book that will help learners to master phrases in a number of topics. The phrases are spoken, in a choice of male and female voices.

The web site for the application is at welshlessonsapp. If you have iTunes installed on your machine, you can also go directly to Welsh Lessons.

Online Welsh Language Dictionaries

Lampter University has an online English-Welsh dictionary available at www.geiriadur.net. You can search for words or parts of words and phrases.

BBC Wales also has lots of resources, including a dictionary at www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learnwelsh.