© 2022 Tramor Music LLC

Croeso/Welcome

Hello everyone, Sioni Dda dw i/I am John Good and I will be leading the newydd spon danlli/brand-spanking new flame-colored interactive, online Welsh course.  

To Prospective Participants

Let me tell you a little about myself so that we can understand each other better from the start/dechrau. I was born in South Wales in the Afan Valley and Welsh/Y Gymraeg and English were spoken in the house. By the time I left school, I knew less Welsh than when I started. I had little interest in a “dying language”, and anyway the Beatles sang in English and all of my friends spoke it. Fast forward 25 years, having moved to San Francisco, LA then Phoenix, all of a sudden I realized I had robbed myself of a major part of my cultural identity. I set about re-learning Yr Hen Iaith/The Old Language, so that I could talk to my aging mother in the language of her youth. I achieved that and, in the last 20 years or so, have helped/taught a surprising number of desert dwellers and others, among other things, how to pronounce popty-ping (popty/oven—that goes—ping) or microwave. The language is now a passion of mine and I look forward to the opportunity to pass on what I cherish; the truly healthiest “dying language” in the world.

Y Driniaeth/The Approach

I’ve assembled my approach to teaching from a number of sources over the years: John Albert Evans, Rhodri Jones, Heini Gruffudd, and Gareth King to name but a few, but have also assembled a fairly large dossier on how not to teach Welsh. I’ll be working from my own play book and selected textbook, illustrated with the borrowings from the best teachers I know. As a musician I am attracted to the “by ear” method; language as sound, much like a melody with meaning. After all young children don’t use grammar books (although for adults they have their place), they associate repeated sounds with objects and people.

Adnoddau ar-lein/Online Resources

We are very lucky these days that there are a myriad of online resources that I would have killed for when I was first looking to revive my heritage. I’ll go through these in detail later on, as they all have special strong points, but for now…

Group & Private

Lessons

Normally I teach small group classes of four or five students, but private lessons are available. Small group classes are available online. To arrange for group or private lessons please contact me at potelobop@hotmail.com. All prospective students must contact me by telephone to start the registration process (602-509-5223).
Online Welsh
              Courses

Course

Requirements

Google Meet account Headset Webcam Level specific textbook

Links & Downloads

We’ll use Google Meet for classtime (free!). https://meet.google.com/ I’ve provided the following tools: Welsh Alphabet handout Welsh Alphabet pronunciations (MP3)   Right click on audio controls, then choose Save. Welsh Dipthongs (MP3)   Right click on audio controls, then choose Save, to keep a copy. Word Order of Basic Welsh Sentences

Geiriaduron/Dictionaries

The best Welsh/English dictionary! http://geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html  English to Welsh only, but an incredible bargain for free/am rad ac yn ddim! The hard copy is $84 from Amazon! http://techiaith.bangor.ac.uk/GeiriadurAcademi/?lang=en Another great free dictionary, with search features I’ll tell you about later. http://www.geiriadur.net/ A free Welsh spell-checker/Sillafydd. http://www.cysgliad.com/cysill/arlein/