About us

Cadw Swn was founded by Welsh-to-adults tutor and author Colin Jones BSc with one aim; to produce the easiest, most enjoyable Welsh course possible.

Colin had been teaching Welsh to adults for a number of years after learning Welsh himself, and had been interested in accelerating the learning process. He noticed (as have many others) that playing certain pieces of classical music in class lead to a more relaxed, informal atmosphere. This, in turn, meant that students were apt to take in new information more easily, and also ‘perform’ better when speaking Welsh in class. The idea of making learning both more relaxing and more productive struck a chord.

Colin soon discovered that a huge amount of pioneering work had been done by Georgi Lozanov in Bulgaria, who had devised a system known as Suggestopedia. This technique uses specific pieces of Classical and Baroque music to alter brainwave patterns, putting people into an ‘accelerated learning state’.

Building on Lozanov’s groundbreaking work, and drawing on his writing skills, Colin began writing the stories which would accompany the Cadw Swn course. He also found a ‘guinea-pig’ who had no Welsh at all; Scottish-Canadian artist William Brown, who had set up his studio in Colin’s native Cwm Llynfi. Now Colin could write one lesson, try it out, and adapt it as necessary. He could also see if the method really worked.

The time spent working with William proved exciting and fruitful; William seemed to be progressing in leaps and bounds, but was this down to the course, or was William simply a ‘model pupil’? Colin needed to find out more.

To see if the course would work in a group environment a pilot class was set up in Bridgend, where it became something of a talking point.

‘An advert had been put out in the brochure containing details of all the Welsh-to-adults classes in the area, and the local newspaper had run a very short article on it. On registration night there were simply far too many people to fit in one class, I ended up having to turn people away.’ Remembers Colin.‘There was a real buzz; I’d got there very early, only to find a group of people already waiting. When I’d finally got the 20 pupils into one room I explained what I’d be trying to do, and how the course might be different to what they’d expected. Some people had just come for a ‘normal’ evening class, and I was partly hoping to get the numbers down. 20 adults in one class is quite a lot, plus I wanted to give people the chance to take a more traditional class if they wanted. No-one left.’

There was one problem – Colin’s workload. The course was to run for 27 weeks, and Colin had planned to write and record 20 stories. However, nearly half way through the course he still only had the original 10 stories he’d used with William, together with a host of other tutoring work.

‘It was a crazy time.’ Colin says, ‘I was taking classes all over the place; I’d be in Cardiff one morning, then drive to Maesteg or Cornelli for a second class, and often have another class in Bridgend in the afternoon. I’d usually have an evening class somewhere too. Plus I didn’t have the stories for next week’s Cadw Swn lesson, and I was trying to sort out what was needed to publish the course. I’d end up writing the story in the car the day before the lesson over a sandwich, and recording the vocals often only hours before the class. I eventually started performing the stories ‘live’ in class over the music. Things got quite stressful, but I knew that something important was happening.’

After finding the classical music he needed for the course Colin locked himself away in the studio, recording and synchronizing the 20 Aberarthur stories over the classical and Baroque music to produce a mammoth 10 CD package.

In 2000 the course was launched on ‘the maes’ at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Llanelli. Colin shared a stand with artist William Brown, the very first ‘guinea pig’ for the course. ‘I knew the course worked on the Friday, when I heard William discussing prices for his paintings with prospective customers entirely in Welsh. When it mattered he could ’slip into’ Welsh with ease.’

Ten years after starting work on the course Colin began re-recording sections of the recordings;

‘The original music was fabulous, but I need a slightly more flexible arrangement which allows me to sell the CDs individually. It’s also time to make the recordings available as audio downloads, for instant environmently-friendly delivery. I want to make Cadw Swn more flexible and easier to buy. I want everyone who’s interested to be able to dip their toe into it, to give it a try.’

Since launching the course Colin has appeared on national TV and radio, and has given a number of talks about the method. His website can be found atwww.colin-jones.com

‘Cadw Swn contains many years of experience, research and teaching condensed into one Welsh course.’ says Colin, ‘I believe its the best home-study Welsh course available today.’

We hope you agree.