Say Something In

All about language programs, courses, websites and other learning resources
hectorgrey
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 4:40 am
Location: Aberystwyth
Languages: English: Native
Welsh: A2/B1
Norwegian: Beginner
Cantonese: Beginner
Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=7577
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Say Something In

Postby hectorgrey » Fri Jan 19, 2018 9:44 pm

Say Something In started out as a free online course for learning to speak Welsh. Since then, they've added courses for Spanish, Manx, Dutch (though there isn't much for this language) and Cornish. The course is audio only (though they do have lists of the new vocabulary added in each lesson), and has been jokingly referred to as Michel Thomas on crack/speed/steroids. Each lesson is, essentially, a 30+ minute speaking drill where new vocabulary is added, then mixed in with the vocabulary already in use. As such, it doesn't teach a great deal of vocabulary, but what it does teach sticks really well. Grammar is not explained; instead, your brain uses its built in pattern recognition to recognise how good grammar should sound. They also have listening practice sessions, which they recommend listening to for five minutes per day. They contain only the material that has been learned at the point they're introduced, and the later ones have been edited to play at double speed, to help get you used to hearing people speaking full speed quicker.

For Welsh, there's the old course (which is how I started learning) and the new course. The beginners material for both is free, and access to the rest is £4 a month. There are plans to increase that to £10 a month in the near future, but anybody who is already a subscribed member at that point will be kept on their current subscription price. They also do week long holidays in Wales that they call "bootcamps". They don't teach anything on bootcamp; that's not the point. Instead, they show you around various bits of Wales. The only rule is that you don't get to speak any English. You're only allowed to speak Welsh for the entire week. Don't know the word for what you want to say? Tough; try to talk around it, or mime if you have to, but no English. I've been twice, and it was a lot of fun. It was a hell of a confidence boost (though having to start speaking English again once I got back felt really weird).

The Spanish course has almost as much material as the new Welsh course, and is almost certainly just as good. It is a little more expensive, since it is subsidising the lower price for Welsh to a degree, but it is still significantly less expensive than the likes of Michel Thomas and Pimsleur.

I'd estimate that this course could get a learner to a solid A2 in the language; bordering on B1. It doesn't really teach reading and writing, so these would need to be learned elsewhere, but as a cheaper alternative to the likes of Pimsleur and Michel Thomas, I'd say that it compares quite favourably.
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