Cymdeithas Madog will be attending the North American Festival of Wales in Toronto.

We often hear that children are more adept than adults at picking up a second language, but is that really the case?

By Vivien Bosley with Mona Everett

 

About 50 Welsh language learners and tutors descended on Elmhurst College,

near Chicago, for a week of intensive Welsh language study, mixed with a good

dose of fun. Cymdeithas Madog sponsored the annual summer course July 14-21,

which attracted students from all over the US and Canada.

 

This year’s Cwrs Cymraeg was organized by long-time attendee, Dick Myers

of Racine, WI. This was Dick’s third time serving as local organizer, so it’s no

wonder that everything came off without a hitch. Diolch yn fawr, Dick!

Three tutors from Wales come over each year to join four North American

teachers. All are very experienced in teaching Welsh to adults and provide

stimulating and useful materials for the learners who range from absolute

beginners to quite fluent.

 

It was a very intensive week, made to seem more so due to the abnormally

hot temperatures. Classes were held throughout the day, followed by

workshops, ‘study hall’, choir practice, and an evening activity. The week is often

the only opportunity students have to listen to Welsh being spoken by native

speakers and to practice their conversational skills.

 

Workshops were repeated each day, so students could go to a different one

every day. Topics included the Ancient Celts, Welsh folk music, contemporary

Welsh affairs, reading practice, a Welsh soap opera workshop, and Welsh poetry.

There was also an opportunity to contribute to the Cwrs newspaper.

As usual, evening activities included a welcome reception, a night of Welsh folk

dancing, a pub quiz, a games night with Scrabble in Welsh, and a movie night.

This year there were two films: one about the last performance of a pair of

Welsh entertainers, Ryan and Ronnie who were immensely successful in the 60’s

and 70’s. It was quite interesting, but paled in comparison to the documentary

called ‘Murray the Hump’, which was quite extraordinary. It turns out that the

subject of the film, Llewellyn Morris Humphreys was one of the most powerful

men in the Chicago underworld and the right-hand man to Al Capone. Humphreys

was a third cousin to Lord Dafydd Wigley, past president of Plaid Cymru.

Wigley found this out rather by accident and proceeded to extensively research

the man. Wigley is featured prominently in the film, and is shown on location in

the Chicago area. (Editor’s note: The September-October 2012 issue of Ninnau

featured a lengthy article by Dafydd Wigley about his infamous cousin.)

 

The mid-week trip was to Oak Park to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s house and

studio, where it was learned that his motto was ‘Y wirionaeth yn erbyn y byd’

(Truth against the World), a phrase used during the Gorsedd ceremony at the

National Eisteddfod. Afterwards, students had the option of exploring the city or

returning to campus.

 

One of the highlights of the week is always the Eisteddfod, based on the

tradition in Wales. Students submitted original writings in Welsh, which were

judged by the tutors. There were winners at three levels, and the top level winner

received the Cwrs Chair to take home for a year. This year, the winner of the

Chair was Ceri Eagling for her story about ‘The Wind’, which was the title of the

contest in the Windy City.

 

The other great evening was the last one– the Noson Lawen. What an

astonishing wealth of talent was displayed by the participants–lovely voices,

clever musicianship, dramatic reading, and amazing wit.

 

Several members of two local Welsh societies popped in and out during the week.

Members of the Cambrian Benevolent Society were a great help with registration

and airport transport. They, along with members of the Chicago Tafia, joined in for

the lively pub quiz night (participants needed all the help they could get to answer

the esoteric questions!), the Eisteddfod, Banquet, Nosen Lawen, and Sunday

Gymanfa.

 

Because Welsh Heritage Week was scheduled to be held the following week at

the same college, many of their students and teachers arrived early and were

able to attend some of the Cwrs events. Thanks to this arrangement, the Sunday

Gymanfa featured the outstanding direction of Gareth Hughes Jones from Wales.

Besides classwork, the Cymdeithas Madog Board meets exclusively throughout

the week to conduct business and elect new Board members. This year Maria

Bartholdi, Paul Batty, Mona Everett, and Robert Jones joined the Board.

Next year’s Cwrs Cymraeg will be held at Brock University in St. Catharine’s,

ON, near Niagara Falls, from July 20-27. More information will be posted

as it becomes available. Please check the website, www.madog.org, or follow

Cymdeithas Madog on Facebook.

 

Previously published in Ninnau & Y Drych, www.ninnau.com

 

Here’s a lovely note from someone in Wales and their reaction to Cwrs Cymraeg

Meet The Tutors

Cymdeithas Madog takes great pride in our tutoring staff for Cwrs Cymraeg 2018 at Hamline University, in St Paul, MN. Here’s your chance to take a moment and meet the tutors that will be helping you learn Welsh this summer

Level 1 – Helen Roberts

Fy enw i ydy Helen Roberts dwi´n dod o Sir Conwy, Gogledd Cymru. Athrawes ysgol uwchradd Cymraeg (fel ail iaith) ydw i. Es i i brifysgol i wneud fy ngradd a chwrs TAR. Mae gen i brofiad o ddysgu Cymraeg yn Patagonia, Ariannin ac yn Hong Kong, teithio ydy un o fy mrif diddordebau. Rydw I bellach yn byw a gweithio yn Madrid, Sbaen. Mae´r prifathro yn dysgu Cymraeg, felly dwi´n cael cyfle i sgwrsio gyda fo, ac wrth gwrs gyda fy nheulu ar facetime. Dwi´n edrych ymlaen yn arw at gyfarfod pawb a helpu chi gyda´ch Cymraeg.

My name is Helen Roberts I´m from Conwy County, North Wales. I am a secondary school Welsh teacher (as second language)I went to university in Swansea and completed my PGCE there too. I love travelling and went to teach Welsh in Patagonia, Argentina and Hong Kong. I currently live and work in Madrid, Spain. I am really looking forward to meeting everyone and helping you with your Welsh language classes.

Level 2 – Christine McSorley

Fy enw i yw Christine McSorley (Jones). Roeddwn yn byw ar Ynys Môn, yng Ngogledd Cymru am dros 40 o flynyddoedd, cyn mynd dramor i Ganada yn Ionawr 2000.

Dw i wedi gweithio yn yr adran Lletygarwch a Thwristiaeth mewn colegau yng Ngymru ac Ontario, Canada. Mae gen i Feistr Gweinyddu Busnes (MBA) yn Lletygarwch a Thwristiaeth, yn ogystal â thystysgrif ar gyfer addysgu ag hyfforddi oedolion. Ar ôl cymryd fy ymddeoliad cynnar, rwyf yn dysgu’n rhan-amser ar-lein gyda Coleg Algonquin yn Ottawa. Dros yr haf diwethaf oeddwn yn dysgu Cymraeg ar-lein ar gyfer y prosiect “Cada Dia Welsh”.

Rwy’n siarad ar “Facetime” gyda fy chwaer sydd dal yn byw yng Ngogledd Cymru. Mae hyn yn helpu i fi gofio ac i ymarfer fy ngeirfa. Hefyd, rwyf yn canu hwiangerddi Cymraeg gyda fy wyrion.

Rwy’n edrych ymlaen i roi cymorth i chi wrth ddysgu ac ymarfer yr iaith ar Gwrs Cymraeg Cymdeithias Madog ym mis Gorffennaf 2017.

My name is Christine McSorley (Jones). I lived on Anglesey North Wales for over 40 years, before emigrating to Canada in January 2000.

I have worked in colleges in Wales and Ontario Canada in the department of Hospitality and Tourism. I have a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Hospitality and Tourism as well as a certificate for teaching and training adult. I have taken my early retirement and now teach part-time online for Algonquin College, Ottawa; last summer I taught Welsh on-line for the Cada Dia Welsh project.

To help me remember and practise my Welsh I chat to my sister, who still lives in North Wales on “Facetime”. I also sing Welsh nursey rhymes with my grandchildren.

I look forward to the opportunity to helping you practise speaking and expand your Welsh during the Cymdeithas Madog Welsh Course July 2017.

Level 3 – Wayne Harbert

Athro Emeritws, wedi ymddeol ar ôl 39 mlynedd o ddysgu ac ymchwilio ym meysydd cystrawen damcaniaethol, ieithyddiaeth hanesyddol a chymharol, hanes a chystrawen yr hen ieithoedd Germaneg (yn enwedig, Gotheg, Hen Saesneg a Hen Almaeneg), hanes yr iaith Saesneg, a phroblemau’r ieithoedd lleiafrifol. Dechreuais i ymddiddori yn yr ieithoedd Celtaidd ym 1991. Roeddwn i ar y Cwrs Cymraeg (fel dysgwr) am y tro cyntaf ym 1992, a roeddwn i’n aelod ac yn llywydd bwrdd Cymdeithas Madog yn y nawdegau. Dechreuais i ddysgu Gaeleg yr Alban ym 1995, ac yn ystod y blynyddoedd ers hynny cynigiais i sawl dosbarth yn y ddwy iaith, yn ogystal â Chymraeg Canol. Dechreuais i ddysgu Kaqchikel, iaith Maya sy’n cael ei siarad yn ucheldiroedd Guatemala, ychydig o flynyddoedd yn ôl. Roeddwn i’n athro Cwrs Cymraeg am y tro cyntaf y llynedd, a dw i’n edrych ymlaen at weld fy hen ffrindiau (a dod i nabod rhai newydd) yn St. Paul. Dw i ddim yn gallu canu.

Professor emeritus, retired after 39 years of teaching and researching in the fields of theoretical syntax, historical and comparative linguistics, history and structure of the old Germanic languages (especially Gothic, Old English, Old High German), history of the English language and problems of minority languages. I began to be interested in the Celtic languages in 1991. I was on the Cwrs Cymraeg (as a learner) for the first time in 1992, and I was a member and president of the Cymdeithas Madog board in the nineties. I began to learn Scottish Gaelic in 1995, and during the years since then I taught a number of courses in the two languages, as well as Middle Welsh. I began to learn Kaqchikel, a Mayan language spoken in the highlands of Guatemala, a few years ago. I was a Cwrs Cymraeg teacher for the first time last year, and I look forward to seeing old friends (and getting to know some new ones) in St. Paul. I can’t sing.

Level 4 – Robert Jones

Yn wreiddiol o Ogledd-Ddwyrain Pensylfania, mae Robert yn byw ar hyn o bryd yn ymyl Prifddinas Efrog Newydd, sef Albany. Mae’n darlithio’n llawn amser yn Fulton-Montgomery Community College lle mae’n dysgu Ffrangeg, Almaeneg a Sbaeneg gan mwyaf ac ambell waith ’Cyflwyniad i’r Ieithyddiaeth’ a ’Llenyddiaeth y Byd’. Hwn fydd ei chweched cwrs fel tiwtor, a’i gyntaf fel Prifdiwtor. Fo ydyw Cadeirydd Cwricwlwm Cymdeithas Madog hefyd. Yn y gymuned, mae’n arwain Siop Siarad Gymraeg i bobl yn ardal Albany, a thrysorydd eu cymdeithas Gymreig ydyw hefyd. Mae’n fyd-enwog am eij ôcs di-flas Cymreig a Chymraeg a’i rôl fel cwisfeistr didrugaredd!

Originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania, Robert now lives on the outskirts of New York’s capital, Albany. He teaches full time at Fulton-Montgomery Community College where he mostly offers courses in French, German and Spanish, and sometimes “Introduction to Linguistics” and “World Literature.” This will be his sixth course as a tutor, and his first as Lead Tutor. He is also Cymdeithas Madog’s Curriculum Chair. In the community, he leads a Welsh language “Siop Siarad” for people in the Albany area, and he is also the treasurer for their local Welsh society. He is also world renowned for his tasteless jokes in Welsh and English and his role as a merciless quiz master!

Level 5 – John Otley

Sut hwyl?  John Otley ydw i.  Mi ges i fy ngeni yn Nhoronto, Canada ond mi ddaeth fy nheulu o Rosllannerchrugog yng ngogledd-ddwyrain Cymru.  Dw i’n dysgu Cymraeg yng Eglwys Unedig Gymraeg Dewi Sant yn Nhoronto ers 24 o flynyddoedd ac dw i wedi tiwtora ar Cwrs Cymraeg Cymdeithas Madog gwpl o weithiau yn y dyfodol.  Dw i’n gweithio i’r Bwrdd Addysg Toronto ond yn chwarae gitâr a golff yn fy amser sbâr (ond nid ar yr un amser).

Dw i’n edrych ymlaen at weld ffrindiau hen a newydd yn St. Paul.  Ond gair i gall i’r rhai a fydd yn lefel 5.  Mi fydd gynnon ni lot o waith i’w wneud yn ystod yr wythnos.  Ond peidiwch â phoeni – Mi fydd gynnoch chi 51 o wythnosau eraill yn y flwyddyn i gysgu.

Hi.  I’m John Otley.  I was born in Toronto, Canada but my family comes from Rhosllanerchrugog in North-East Wales.  I’ve been teaching Welsh at Dewi Sant Welsh United Church in Toronto for the past 24 years and have tutored on Cymdeithas Madog’s Cwrs Cymraeg a couple of times in the past.  I work for the Toronto District School Board but in my spare time, I play guitar and golf (but not at the same time).

I’m looking for to seeing old and new friends in St. Paul.  But a word to the wise to those who will be in level 5.  We’ll have lots of work to do during the week.  But don’t worry – You’ll have 51 other weeks in the year to sleep.

Level 6 – Ceri Phillips

Su’ mai,

Fy enw i yw Ceri Phillips ac rwy’n diwtor yr Iaith Gymraeg i Fwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Betsi Cadwaladr, sef bwrdd iechyd Gogledd Cymru. Rwy’n addasu’r cyrsiau i’r bwrdd iechyd i anghenion y staff – ei lefel iaith, a’r math o waith maent yn wneud o ddydd i ddydd a dyna yw fy mwriad gyda chi!! Dysgu patrymau, geirfa ac iaith sy’n berthnasol i’ch bywydau chi, sef rhoi’r iaith ar waith!!

Rwy’n diwtor bellach ers bron i 8 mlynedd ac wedi dysgu nifer o gyrsiau drwy Brifysgol Bangor, Popeth Cymraeg ac wedi gwneud peth dysgu ar liwt fy hun mewn tafarndai yng Ngogledd Cymru. Er hyn, mae cael y cyfle i ddod draw i Minnieapolis, Minnesota am fod yn brofiad hollol newydd i mi fel tiwtor.

Graddiais yn Hanes a Hanes Cymru ym Mhrifysgol Aberystwyth yn 2009 ac wedyn es i fyw i Nepal am ychydig o fisoedd i wirfoddoli mewn ysgol mewn ardal ddifreintiedig ger Kathmandu, wedi hynny mi symudais i fyw i Gaerdydd lle ddechreuodd fy niddordeb mewn tiwtora.

Tra yng Nghaerdydd bues i’n gweithio i gwmni Acen ac wedyn y BBC yn yr adran newyddion, cyn symud yn nol i fro fy mebyd, Llanrwst. Pan ddychwelais yn nol i Lanrwst mi ddechreuais i gwrs Cymhwyster Cenedlaethol Tiwtoriaid Cymraeg i Oedolion gyda Phrifysgol Caerdydd.

Bellach rwyf wedi ymgartrefu mewn pentref gwledig o’r enw Penmachno ac yn mwynhau pam gaf i’r cyfle i deithio, cerdded y mynyddoedd ac wrth gwrs cymdeithasu yn y dafarn leol!