4th August 2007
The Big Welsh Challenge held a double celebration at the National Eisteddfod in Flintshire, with the official launch of its online interactive video course and the announcement of a brand new mentoring scheme for Welsh learners.
The event began with a treasure hunt around the maes. Sarah Bately and her 13 year old daughter Cora were relying on the Welsh Cora had learnt at school - and were delighted to arrive back first with the correct answer. They were followed soon afterwards by the males in their party, Tony Moss with 15 year old Greg and 13 year old Bill. "We learnt quite a lot," said Tony. We learnt how to ask for the ice cream which we bought on our way round. We did a total of 2462 steps - we measured it on our pedometer."
Sarah and Cora
Most of the treasure hunters had made it back in time for the Big Welsh Challenge launch. 主播大秀 Wales' Head of Education and Learning Eleri Wyn Williams was joined by celebrity mentor Glyn Wise to present the interactive Welsh course.
The celebrity learners taking part in The Big Welsh Challenge have individual help from their mentors. Now other Welsh learners will now have the chance to benefit from the same type of support from Welsh speakers with The Big Welsh Challenge Mentoring Scheme.
Glyn at the launch
A special pack has been produced containing material to support mentors and learners, including a cookbook with recipes from the Big Welsh Challenge celebrity team written in simple Welsh and designed to improve language skills. These packs have been developed with support from the Welsh Language Board and are intended for use by mentors and learners working together.
"This is a really exciting occasion for us," says Eleri Wyn Williams. "We've had fantastic comments from Welsh learners who've already had the chance to try out our online course and we're in the process of producing additional units which will be available soon. We're also delighted to launch our mentoring scheme, which we believe will prove rewarding for mentors and learners alike."
