Cadw Swn

MARTY MEETS: CADW SWN CREATOR COLIN JONES

As Welsh athletes win Gold in Beijing, Marty meets Colin Jones, creator of the critically acclaimed Cadw Swn course that could have you speaking Welsh in no time. So say "Croeso" to a new language and a new you.

1. Why is it important for people to learn Welsh?

For me, every language gives it's own particular window on the world. Language seems to filter and colour the way we look at the world. If you only speak one language that probably makes no sense, but when you begin to learn other languages you start to see what I mean. You get a richness and a variety which can be quite refreshing.

2. Why did you decide to create the Cadw Swn course?

I'd been a Welsh-to-Adults tutor for a number of years, and I simply wanted to get Welsh into peoples' heads as quickly, enjoyably and painlessly as possible. Stories and music were my own particular route. I had to write the course, as there was nothing similar out there for Welsh.

3. You place a lot of emphasis on relaxation in the Cadw Swn course. You recommend that the learner take a break between each story and you recommend the learner start the learning process with a relaxation exercise. Why is relaxation important to the learning/language learning process?

Up to a certain point the more relaxed we are the better we can do most things. Look at the opposite - the tenser you get the less able you are to do most things. I remember having a car crash; I was so tense after the crash I couldn't even find the door handle for a little while. Stunned.

We could probably live longer and enjoy life more if we learnt to relax. Now this is certainly not the place, but I have been working on a technique to help people relax, and control feelings and emotions. You can go to http://www.asktorelax.com/ to find out more.

4. You use classical music in the Cadw Swn course. I have to admit to being a closet Classic Fm listener and I've read a lot about the effect of classical music on the brain when it comes to memory. Why did you decide to use classical music in the Cadw Swn course?

It started out as a vague interest. I too had read about the effects of music and decided to try it out in some of my classes. I noticed that simply by playing particular pieces of music in the background people seemed to be more relaxed. They could then 'perform' better at speaking the language. One thing lead to another and the course got itself written.

5. I lived and studied in Wales for 3 years. I learned a little Welsh from watching the children's programmes and a rather strange science fiction drama on S4C but I never got around to actually learning Welsh. What stops people from learning Welsh? Why do a lot of people procrastinate about learning Welsh or, indeed, learning any language?

Well there are a couple of things that stop people, even when they've decided to learn the language. You can be a bit hampered by the fact that most Welsh-speakers are bilingual. That should of course be a plus, but you can find that they can be a little too helpful and turn to English if you're struggling.

Learning a language seems difficult to a lot of people. I also feel that for too many years we've been too wrapped up in grammar. That puts a lot of people off. Both of my children spoke two languages before starting school, and I'd never once given them a single grammar lesson. Children just sort of 'pick up' languages, we should do that too.

6. As you know, I'm learning as many languages as I possibly can in just 1 year. It's been an amazing experience so far and I'm having lots of fun. I've clearly struck a chord with people as the total number of visitors to the blog since its creation is over 3500. Do you have any advice that can help me with my language learning challenge or could help other people to pluck up the courage to learn a language?

Something that I've been working on lately might apply particularly to you: You can choose to learn to speak a language by modelling native speakers. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you can decide to take in how a native speaker acts when you're in their company, and duplicate it. It can also give you a kind of anchor to fix you in a particular language, learning so many you could get cross-contamination.

As to anyone who wants to learn a language it's simply a matter of making a commitment, then finding the best way to do it. I don't believe that you need any special skill, although an open nature and not worrying about making mistakes seems to help.

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