Cymraeg WElsh A support guide for you and your child as they begin to learn Welsh Croeso i Sir Benfro Welcome to Pembrokeshire Learning a second language, such as Welsh, makes it easier to learn a third language in the future, or even a fourth or fifth. With cultural diversity becoming more commonplace, having a Learning Welsh knowledge of Welsh and its can help improve cultural heritage can teach your child’s job your child to be more prospects. accepting of people who have a different culture or language. Studies show that learning a second language can help What is the advantage of learning Welsh for your child? for learning of Welsh advantage the is What Being able to understand the improve skills such as language written on street maths, and encourage signs and spoken on television creative thinking. shows may make them feel more comfortable, increasing their self-esteem and making them feel a bigger part of where they live. Wales is called The Welsh people are Cymru in Welsh. Celtic (central and western European) in Wales is one of origin and have their own the four countries language and cultural of the United heritage. Kingdom. Cardiff (Caerdydd in Welsh) is the capital English and Welsh of Wales, has a are the two population of official languages 346,100 of Wales. Welsh is a Celtic based language that has seen a resurgence in recent As well as the native times. There are 575,730 Welsh speakers there are individuals who speak or also between 1,500 and use Welsh, some 21% of 5,000 Welsh speakers An introduction to Wales to introduction An the total population of living in the Chubut Wales. The 2001 census region of Patagonia in also highlighted that southern Argentina. 40.8% of children ages 5 – 15 spoke Welsh. Welsh is a compulsory subject Age is no barrier to The name of the Welsh up to the age of learning. There are language television 16. almost 20,000 adults channel is S4C, which currently learning translates as Channel 4 Welsh and hundreds Wales, and started of these succeed in broadcasting in 1982. becoming fluent Welsh speakers every year. Traditional Welsh cuisine is simple, down-to-earth farmhouse cooking. Here are some examples. Cawl Cawl is a traditional Welsh stew. Welsh Cakes A delicious little cake flavoured with spice and dried fruit, baked on a griddle and Traditional Welsh food Welsh Traditional best served warm and sprinkled with sugar. A real Welsh treat. Bara Brith Bara Brith translates to ‘speckled bread’ and is a traditional Welsh fruit loaf made with tea. People in Wales and those of Welsh origin celebrate the life of their patron saint, St David, and the Welsh culture on March 1st each year. Many people pin a daffodil or leek to their clothes and some, especially children, wear traditional costumes. StDavid’s Day Most schools in Wales celebrate St David’s Day by asking the children to wear traditional costume or a red Welsh shirt. Children take part in a range of activities from singing and reciting in an Eisteddfod to folk dancing. Young children in the Foundation Phase in English-medium settings/ schools will be given an opportunity, through play/active learning, as well as story and structured activities, to acquire sufficient familiarity with Welsh to encourage further language learning and positive attitudes towards Welsh. The Welsh Language Development Area of Learning in the Foundation Phase means: • learning the language gradually and naturally through first-hand experiences • support and respect • sensitivity • praise for effort • a rich and lively environment •fun and enthusiasm. It will consist of the progressive development of children’s skills in: • Oracy (speaking and listening) • Reading •Writing. Hearing and understanding are the first important building blocks towards acquisition of any language. As a first step children should hear Welsh through incidental Welsh and Welsh rhymes, songs, commands, greetings, and simple stories in informal play situations. There should be interactive displays (including labels) that support the development of familiar concepts such as discussing parts of the body, colours, numbers and so on. Children will develop confidence through practitioner responses: praise, positive reinforcement and supportive Welsh in the Foundation Phase Foundation inthe Welsh gestures. Through structured and spontaneous opportunities and activities children should ‘explore’ books and listen to a range of Welsh stories, rhymes and poems. Children acquire and absorb Welsh through a holistic curriculum, through structured play, and through having a specific structured progressive programme. Language skills learned in one language support their development of knowledge and skills in another. Often the children will use both languages simultaneously; for instance ‘Can I have an afal please?’ or ‘Is it time for gwasanaeth now?’ At Key Stage 2, learners build on the skills, knowledge and understanding acquired during the Foundation Phase. This progress is achieved through an integrated programme of oracy, reading and writing. Learners are presented with experiences and opportunities that interrelate the requirements of the Skills and Range sections of the programmes of study. Learners speak with confidence, working as individuals and as members of a group and using a range of vocabulary, phrases, sentences and questions. The experiences presented to them include opportunities to take part in drama and role-play activities. They develop as active and responsive listeners, and experience a wide range of texts, including authentic materials, as they develop as independent and effective readers. They write in response to a range of stimuli with a growing understanding of the need to speak and write in a way that is appropriate to the purpose and audience. They work with increasing accuracy and they become reflective and evaluative in relation to their own and others’ achievements. Welsh in key stage 2 Welshstage in key There are many websites that can help you and your child with learning Welsh. For the kids! hwb.wales.gov.uk cyw.s4c.co.uk stwnsh.s4c.co.uk Astro Antics www.bbc.co.uk/wales/learning/primary/ Penigamp Welsh Websites For you! www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/learningpembrokeshire www.saysomethinginwelsh.com www.bbc.co.uk/learnwelsh/ There are lots of Welsh songs albums and songs available on iTunes for you to download. Cwm Rhyd y Rhosyn Caneuon Cyw Cwm Rhyd y Rhosyn 2 Mi Ganaf Gân Hwyl wrth Ganu Welsh Songs for children available iTunes on children for Songs Welsh We attempt to nurture our pupils’ positive attitudes towards their Welshness through dynamic teaching and also by arranging a variety of activities to promote the language outside the classroom. Not only because we live in Wales and we should be able to have some grasp on our home language, but also because of the importance that is put on the ability to communicate in Welsh in the world of work. Reading is integral to learning a language. TOP TIPS •The most important thing you can do is to show your support towards learning Welsh from the very beginning. There are treasure troves of stories, songs and rhymes in English and Welsh. Your child will have the best of both worlds. •Encourage your child to read aloud in both languages as often as possible - when you're out shopping, in the car, or on the bus. You could read the signs in English and your child could read them in Welsh. •Encourage your child to explain in English what they’ve read in Welsh. •Praise your child in Welsh using comments such as ‘Da iawn!’ (Well done!) Reading with yourchild Welsh in with Reading Reading books studied in the Foundation Phase are available on the iBooks store to download for 49p each. Just type in ‘Tinopolis Interactive’ in the search box and look for the ‘Fflic a Fflac’ series. Here’s a simple guide to Welsh pronunciation Welsh is a language whose spelling is entirely regular and phonetic, so that once you know the rules, you can learn to read it and pronounce it without too much difficulty. Just remember that in Welsh ALL the letters are pronounced (even if sometimes it looks impossible). There are 28 letters in the Welsh Alphabet comprising 7 Vowels and 21 Consonants and 13 dipthongs There are 28 letters are: A | B | C | Ch | D | Dd | E | F | Ff | G | Ng | H | I | L | Ll | M | N | O | P | Ph | R | Rh | S | T | Th | U | W | Y C always 'hard' as in cat A as in man. Ch soft and aspirated as in the Scottish E as in bet or echo. loch or Docherty I as the ee in queen. Dd as the 'th' in the or seethe O as in lot or hot. F as the 'v' in five U as the 'i' in pita Ff as the 'f' in fight W as the 'oo' in Zoo. G always 'hard' as in goat Y has three distinct sounds: Ng as the 'ng' in finger The first is 'uh' when used as the Ll is peculiarly Welsh and difficult to Vowels definite article (y ci) describe. Form your lips and tongue to Consonants The second is similar to the Welsh u pronounce the letter L, but then blow air (byd) gently around the sides of the tongue instead of saying anything. The third is similar to the English u in Welsh pronunciation Welsh under. (yr / yn) Rh sounds as if the h comes before the r with a slight blowing out of air before All the vowels can be lengthened by the r is pronounced. the addition of a circumflex (^). Th as 'th' in think Dipthongs Ae, Ai and Au as the 'y' in my I'w and Y'w as the 'ew' in yew Aw as the 'ow' in cow Oe as the 'oy' in toy Eu and Ei as the 'ay' in pray Ow as the 'ow' in tow or low Ew is more difficult to describe.