The learning experience here at Nant Gwrtheyrn begins on the Monday morning as learners arrive at the site. A welcome meeting is held to explain the schedule for the week. An important part of the welcome meeting is setting the staff’s expectations of learners. We encourage them to take ownership of the site as a safe place to claim the language, and making increasing use of it as the week progresses.
All members of staff at Nant Gwrtheyrn speak Welsh and have been trained on how to support learners. They are aware of the levels and appropriate patterns to use and encourage learners to communicate through the medium of Welsh at every opportunity. This includes staff at Caffi Meinir, the caretakers of the site, reception staff, accommodation officers and senior officers. They model sound linguistic behaviour.
In the classroom, learning focuses on the target language which encourage the use of language during the week of the visit. This means that learners are equipped to cope with the situations they are likely to experience. This is very important in terms of placing the Welsh language in context, taking ownership of the language, gaining confidence and creating language use.
Experienced tutors also provide language awareness training in a subtle and sensitive way. This is an important opportunity to learners to explore their relationship with the language, have an opportunity to discuss personal challenges and support each other from the perspective of those challenges. Each week ends with a ‘Beth Nesa’ (‘What’s Next’) session, with learners being given information about further learning possibilities, but also drawing up a personal action plan. Therefore, learners leave the site with the intention of making practical, sound and useful use of the Welsh language. Combining the elements of awareness and resilience here leads to a change in behaviour and, in the context, to increasing the use of the Welsh language.
The resources at the Nant Gwrtheyrn site are also important in terms of the immersion experience. The chapel, the surgery and the period house include heritage exhibitions to enrich the learners’ experience. They share information about the history of the site and the area, but also about the history of the Welsh language. Tutors use these resources in full through questionnaires, treasure hunts, opportunities for learners to respond in writing, presentations etc.
Beyond the more formal learning, every element of informal learning has been tailored carefully to ensure that learners continue to be immersed, not only in the language but in positive messages about language use. An example of this is visiting Tafarn y Fic public house and being able to listen to a choir of young local boys rehearsing – a wholly Welsh experience.
Similarly, individuals or groups who provide entertainment for learners are chosen carefully. The aim is to open the door to the world and culture of the Welsh language in a safe environment. This can mean a walk with someone who has learned Welsh to acquire nature vocabulary which is rooted in the Nant Gwrtheyrn area, listening to someone singing a popular Welsh song and the opportunity to sing along or having a conversation with people who are part of establishing Nant Gwrtheyrn to learn about the journey of the Welsh language.
