SaySomethingin.com Reviews 93

Been using SSi for over 10 years. Great community and wonderful language learning platform. UI is very easy to use.

I'm a fairly advanced Welsh learner and came to SSIW relatively late. I have found the app has increased my ability to construct sentences far quicker than previously. All learners experience the horror of starting a conversation and then freezing because you cant think quickly enough to carry on at an acceptable pace. SSIW has really helped in this respect, and more than that it's FUN !

Amazing App! Amazing Tech Support!
I've tried many formats for many years, but when in front of native speakers, my brain goes blank. This App helps you maintain the information so well. Its like you're learning your mother tongue.

Any problems and Tech Support are on it (only one minor glitch for me, but it was sorted within a few messages). Mainly my fault for trying to learn too many languages at once!

100% recommend! 👌

SSIW is fantastic and gets you speaking in Welsh immediately. It is one of the tools I use to learn Welsh, and an important one. Speaking the language is essential to integrating it.
Any time I have emailed with a question, I have had a wonderful, individualised reply. It is a genuinely good community of learners, who support each other.
The science of learning is also shared as you go through the listening and speaking exercises. It is fascinating.
And... they keep adding other languages to learn... I love it.

I tried different languages. I'm not impressed.

There are two versions of Japanese, one of them (I don't remember which) had AI voice that sounded like a wheeze of a dying samurai. I don't know what model they use, but my Gemini does much better Japanese speech! I turned it off after five minutes, I couldn't tolerate more.

AI voice in Irish was very difficult to understand and it was repeating the same stuff again and again and again and again. My ADHD made it very hard to keep attention on the endless repetitions. I also didn't understand why would I want to pay for AI generated content if I can listen to real humans for free on youtube or generate my own sentences with better sound quality —ABAIR does speech synthesis in various dialects of Irish and it's in open access. I'm not quite sure why no native speakers were involved in SS, old people, mothers of small kids or university students probably would be happy to record a few hours of their voices for some modest compensation. If they have some connection to "Irish language bodies" as they claim, why not use it?

Surprisingly, Spanish seems okay! I'm not very good in Spanish, so maybe that was just first impression, but i liked it.

Team doesn't seem to be concerned about the amount of mistakes in their product. Native speakers in the wild are supposed to correct whatever weird stuff learners learn from the app. As I read in the forum, Swedish version used to teach a phrase that really means let's have sex. I'm not so confident to risk accidentally suggesting someone sex and then wait to be corrected (frankly I'd expect to be slapped). AI likely writes the courses too, no way native speaker could miss a mistake like that!

I learnt way more in 4 months compared to 10 years on Duolingo. I just got my black belt If you are serious about learning Welsh get on this you wont regret it.

The method itself is good for aural learners. Started as a primarily Welsh-learning project, made with great care and a friendly community. Focuses on language useful for maintaining conversation. Forum currently is mostly inactive, but you can still get useful tips there from people who've been learning Welsh for years.

Quality dropped dramatically after recent switch to AI-driven model. AI-generated courses like Swedish and Irish are published without proper proofreading and with AI audio which is phonetically inaccurate. Team is not proficient in languages it claims to teach this way. Critical feedback at this point is ignored or discouraged.

I'd recommend the method for Welsh, but I wouldn't recommend it for anything else.

I have been using SaySomethingIn for the south Welsh language for more than two years now, I am incredibly happy with the service and the amazing community.

I have learned so much!

I will continue to use the site for the foreseeable future! Thank you team SSI

I have tried SSiW a few times and had mixed experiences, in the past I struggled with the pace of the challenges and didn't make it past the first few lessons. I will focus my review on the new app format.

I have used the app for nearly 80 hours now, exhausting most of the content available, and have found it really useful.

The scope of this app is teaching you how to construct sentences using foundational grammar patterns (although it doesn't teach you the rules as that overcomplicates things).

Compared to other app based learning tools for Welsh, this is head and shoulders above the rest. The information stays in my head, I find it easy to do bite sized sessions on the app now the challenges aren't in use, and the structured repetition is excellent and gives me confidence when I remember stuff I learnt a while back.

Constructive feedback: I wish there was more content available, but also appreciate loads is covered and this is just a nice to have.

The main thing I'd request in the future, is some kind of listening exercises. The old format had these listening exercises to practice translating in your head from welsh to english. Even being able to access these old sessions would be helpful.

I've just completed Challenge 20 of Level 1, and have to say, it does feel like some sort of magic process. I really feel as if Welsh is sort of osmosing in, with many things (from Challenge 14 especially!) that I found so hard initially just now seem to be there. Having said this, I did live in North Wales for many years, so lots of words were known or familiar to me, but now for the first time I can string them together. I've found some aspects a bit awkward - e.g. still haven't figured out how to post a comment/reply in the forum on my phone app, but other than that, excellent and amazing value. Aran is right, this goes FAR quicker than traditional evening classes and allows everyday speech from the off (unlike duo lingo).

Customer service is useless . To cancel the payments is impossible seems to me. E mails ignored . Avoid . Why is the payment not established as a direct debit, why is there no unsubscribe box ? It is terrible .

was a great service when i first started, 2 Years later out of the blue £250.00 charge for no reason. I have emailed, Messaged with no response and now have paypal on the case.

Customer service is shocking

I went through some of the beginning lessons about 10 years ago, then stopped. I picked it up again recently and was amazed to realize how much I remembered! I love the oral approach to language learning. It seems to suit the way I learn. The teachers also find ways to make it fun!

I use Automagic and I really rate it. I live and work in a Welsh speaking environment so it's really useful. I put it on for half an hour whilst I walk on the treadmill at the highest setting where I can still speak out loud when I warm up in the gym. It's really intelligently designed and I recommend it to everyone. It's very useful to me for the Northern variant. Brilliant programme and the facts and encouragement on it are great. More workplaces should get non Welsh speakers learning on this system. It surprises me how much you learn. A great way to learn a fascinating language which opens up so much culture, history and friendships.

I've been using SSIW for around 4 months now and wanted to hold off reviewing until I'd given it a good go.

I'll be honest. I tried with SSIW a few times in the past but never stuck with it long. However this last six months I've made a commitment to learning Welsh. I have an hour's tuition every week which is incredible but it still felt there was something missing. So I started again with SSiW only this time I started just building it into my routine. I use it while I'm doing something else - driving, cleaning, walking the dog.

And.... It is absolutely FANTASTIC. I am so glad I stuck with it and pushed past the initial discomfort. It has made all the difference in the world. Knowing lists of words or having learnt vocabulary solely through reading is nice but it doesn't necessarily give you the confidence to translate all that into spoken, conversational Welsh. And if you don't feel comfortable speaking Welsh it becomes even harder to make progress.

Its been a game changer to learn Welsh via hearing and speaking it. I find my pronunciation is so much better - when I think about it, I often mispronounce ENGLISH words I've only ever seen written down! So, the "hear and speak first" method has been incredibly effective. I feel I have an ear for Welsh now.

50 hours in and I can now confidently hold a conversation for an hour. I have fairly lengthy conversations with Welsh speakers in work. And I've had so many compliments about my Welsh, including many who have expressed shock I've been learning for such a short time and have commented on how natural and even "fluent" I sound.

There's a caveat here in that, I did have a baseline of some Welsh, having done a few weeks of courses here and there, and having done Welsh second language GCSE (20 years ago!). I think that did help me learn a lot faster.

And also - this is not a complete Welsh course - but, there's no such thing as a course which will teach you everything you could ever need to know. You still need to engage. Use the language whenever you can, watch TV, listen to podcasts, join online speaking sessions.

What this does is give you the BUILDING BLOCKS of Welsh conversation so you feel confident talking, putting together sentences, understanding most generic conversation and being able to ask for clarification for things you don't understand. I cannot express how much of a game changer this is. It's helped me break a barrier that was preventing me making progress for a long time. I feel good about speaking Welsh now, not scared. I enjoy it and find it fulfilling. I'm starting to feel like a Welsh speaker.

I'd like to respond to other negative reviews which take issue with particular dialects used in the course. I really think learners tend to worry far too much about dialects and North Vs South and this is a mental barrier to progress.

For what it's worth, I live in the South but hear dialects from across Wales due to my job. And the dialects I'm learning have been understood by everyone I've spoken to, even if particular words or expressions aren't in common use in their region. I'm frequently told I sound like a very natural Welsh speaker. And, all those regional differences are what makes Welsh such a fascinating and rich language in my opinion! You don't have to worry about understanding every possible variation of an expression - you really don't! Just keep exposing yourself to as much Welsh as possible, talk to people from different areas, listen to podcasts, watch S4C. And stop being scared of not understanding everything or being 100% understood.

Since starting this course, I've let go of perfectionism and realised what a barrier to progress it really was. I'm happy to chat away in Welsh now, even though I get things wrong, even though I sometimes have to ask people to repeat or explain things, even though I sometimes have to drop English words in. Please trust me that feeling silly or vulnerable or out of your depth sometimes is absolutely key to mastering a language. When you can make peace with that and embrace it, you will astonish yourself at the progress you start to make.

In terms of the course delivery/tech- I will say that the app needs a little work but it's being constantly improved and updated. I think automagic would benefit from more effective navigation systems so you can skip or go back to particular topics.

Overall though, it's impossible to give this any less than five starts because the method is an absolute game changer; the "missing piece" in my Welsh language journey. I really feel I've found a "cheat code".

I cannot recommend SSiW any more highly. If you have the commitment, and want to start speaking Welsh in a natural, confident and authentic way very quickly - there's no better alternative in my opinion.

To put it plainly, I absolutely love it. I've picked up an astonishing amount of Welsh in just a few months (4–5 months). When it comes to getting a solid start in speaking Welsh, I can't think of a better method or platform out there.

I started with SSiW a looong time ago, after stumbling upon their site by accident. Their method had me hooked straight away, because I was listening and speaking from the get-go. As others have mentioned, it is not always easy; I have found that persisting with their approach pays off - practice makes perfect, as they say. I think I am a reasonably confident Welsh speaker as a result.
I am also very interested in the theories behind their methodology, particularly in view of the recent boom in AI and large language models, which are in turn based on the theory of neural networks, and on related insights into human language formulaicity.
One disclaimer: I did write the (unfinished) SaySomethinginDutch course

I got 3 months into the 6 month language learning intensive for Welsh (southern). I didn't believe I would be able to learn Welsh and was just doing it to test the method, but I was very excited by the early results. After 3 months, I hit plateau where all the information was overwhelming and I didn't feel like I was learning much anymore, so I took a break.

Overall, the company is run by very kind and very involved people. They are all constantly interacting with and encouraging every member, individually even if you are active in the forum, and there are lots of ways to become more active in your learning, doing online meetups/ speaking practice, and listening exercises and other resources.

All in all I'm excited by what this company is doing, how creative and kind they are...

I signed up before the monthly subscription. I'm glad because I'm not a fan of subscriptions, and would never have signed up that way. So I hope they reconsider offering one time payment/access to those who need it. Maybe scholarships or something.

Thanks for all you do, SaySomething!

I'm updating my review as I reached out to Say Something In Welsh and got some positive responses, and felt it should be reflected. Also note this is mostly about their app, which is the way I access the course content.
The app has huge potential. The learning method is the best I've found for real life conversations. My daughter goes to Welsh school, and I'm just starting to be able to speak with her (and her teachers a little bit!), so I'm chuffed with that. I'm giving a 3 as the app is a little clunky, and a little frustrating at times. Devs are working on it though, and the updates sound promising. Looking forward to it's release, & hopefully giving a 5 because the method itself is amazing!

Terrible, I'm trying very hard this is definitely not for beginners.
Trying to go back and practice but its not possible.
I will find a better way this is completely useless.