Overview of our activities
We are Cymdeithas Madog, the Welsh Studies Institute of North America, and we warmly welcome all those interested in expanding their Welsh language skills, to our community of Welsh speakers drawn from all around North America, as well as from Wales.
Every month except July, we put on virtual online conversations in Welsh, for a range of different skill levels from “don’t know a word of Welsh”, through Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Our small group format allows our moderators — skilled speakers of Welsh — to adjust the material to suit the needs of the people who have joined the conversation.
As well as our monthly conversations, we offer an intensive, two-day weekend workshop online, once or twice a year depending on interest,with three 90 minute tutor-led sessions for each of our three levels, for a moderate fee (currently $25 per session, or $60 for three). In format, the sessions are similar to our monthly conversations, but with more language materials presented.
Once a year, we offer a week-long residential course, usually in mid to late July, hosted at a different college or university each time, to spread around the travel costs for our wide-flung group of participants. The charge for our residential course, usually in the $1500 range, covers accommodations, meals in the dining hall, tutors, and incidental costs such as course materials. Our optional Wednesday afternoon expedition has a separate fee, depending on bus travel and group entrance fees for the local site visited; usually around $50 to $80 per person.
Scholarships are available for our week-long residential course, please visit our scholarships page for more information.
As learners ourselves, whether new to Welsh or native speakers, we put on our activities for each other, to develop and maintain our language skills, and we welcome all who wish to join us. As we are participants as well as organizers, we have a lot of experience (since 1977!) making our events be a strong contribution to anyone’s Welsh language skills, with a special focus on speaking within a community of Welsh speakers coming together from across North America and Wales.