Awdures ydw i, ond yn ogystal â thrio sgwennu llyfrau, dw i’n diwtor Cymraeg i Oedolion. Mater o raid oedd o a bod yn onest; chwilio am ffordd arall o dalu’r biliau. Mae awduron eraill yn cael swydd sgriptio Pobol y Cwm, ond dw i ddim yn berson sebon yn anffodus. Dw i’n fwy o berson Game of Thrones. I am an author, but in addition to trying to write books I am a Welsh tutor for adults. To be honest this was a matter of necessity: looking for another way to pay the bills. Other authors get a job writing scripts for Pobol Y Cwm (People of the Valley, a Welsh soap opera), but unfortunately I am not a soap sort of person. I am more of a Game of Thrones person.

Mi wnes i sgwennu cyfres Blodwen Jones cyn dechrau tiwtora, ond oherwydd Blodwen, ro’n i’n cael gwahoddiadau i siarad gyda dosbarthiadau dros Gymru, ac ro’n i’n teimlo’n gyfforddus iawn – a chyffrous hefyd yn eu canol nhw. Ro’n i hefyd wedi bod yn ddysgwr fy hun mewn gwersi Sbaeneg gyda’r nos ac yn gwybod pa mor ddigri a difyr a rhwystredig mae dosbarthiadau iaith i oedolion yn gallu bod. I wrote the Blodwen Jones series before beginning to tutor, but on account of Blodwen I received invitations to speak to classes throughout Wales, and I felt very much at home – and also excited in their midst. I had also been a learner myself in a Spanish course of evening classes and I knew how enjoyable, entertaining and frustrating language classes for adults can be.

Mi wnes i gais i fod yn diwtor a chael cyfweliad gan neb llai na Liz Saville Roberts AS (cyn iddi fynd i fyd gwleidydda). Ro’n i’n gorfod rhoi gwers Gymraeg iddi! Mae’n rhaid mod i wedi plesio, achos mi ges y swydd. I applied to become a tutor and got an interview with none other than Liz Saville Roberts AS (before she went on to lead a life in politics). I had to give her a lesson in Welsh! I must have given satisfaction, because I got the job.

Dw i wedi bod yn tiwtora ers 4 blynedd rŵan, a nac ydw, dw i ddim llawer gwell allan yn ariannol. Dydy hi ddim yn swydd sy’n talu’n wych, ond mae ’na fwy i fywyd na phres, a nefi, dw i’n mwynhau. Mae’n braf dod i nabod pobl eraill, pobl sy’n aml yn ddiddorol tu hwnt, a chan mod i’n gweithio cymaint ar fy mhen fy hun bach o flaen cyfrifiadur, mae’r cyfle i gymdeithasu fel hyn yn gwneud byd o les i mi. I have now been tutoring for four years, and no, I am not much better off financially. It is not a job that pays well, but there is more to life than money, and goodness me, but I enjoy it. It is great getting to know other people, people who are often extremely interesting, and since I work so much all on my little ownsome in front of a computer, the opportunity to socialise like this does me a world of good.

Mae eu gweld nhw’n dysgu a gwella o wythnos i wythnos yn rhoi’r mwynhad rhyfedda hefyd – i mi, ac iddyn nhw. Ro’n i wedi anghofio’r teimlad hwnnw, rhywbeth fyddai’n digwydd yn fy ngwersi Ffrangeg ers talwm – efo’r setiau uwch gan amla, rhaid cyfadde. Ond byddai gweld y fflach yn llygaid y disgyblion llai galluog yn rhoi mwy fyth o wefr i mi – y fflach o oleuni ‘Dwi’n dallt hwnna!’ a ‘Dwi’n gwybod yn union sut i ateb hynna...’ oedd yn rhoi hyder a theimlad o hunan-werth i ddisgybl oedd yn aml jest yn teimlo’n dwp. Seeing them learn and improve from week to week also gives the most extraordinary satisfaction – to me, and to them. I had forgotten this feeling, something which used to happen in my French lessons long ago – for the most part, I must confess, with the higher sets. But seeing the eyes of the less able pupils light up would give me even more of thrill – the flash of enlightenment that says 'I understand this!' and 'I know exactly how to answer that' that gave confidence and a feeling of self-worth to pupils who often just felt stupid.

Ond fel athrawes mewn ysgol uwchradd, ro’n i’n gorfod brwydro i gadw diddordeb y rhai oedd ddim yn gweld diben dysgu Ffrangeg. Gydag oedolion sy’n dysgu Cymraeg, mae’n wahanol, maen nhw i gyd isio bod yno, isio dysgu, ac maen nhw i gyd isio cael gwaith cartref! But as a teacher in secondary school, I had to fight to keep the interest of those who did not see the point of learning French. With adults who are learning Welsh, it is different, they all want to be there, want to learn and they all want to be given homework!

Dw i wedi chwerthin yn aml, ond mae’n rhaid bod yn ofalus gyda hynny. Mae pawb mor wahanol: rhai yn berffaith hapus i chwerthin pan fyddan nhw’n gwneud camgymeriadau, ond mae ’na rai eraill sy’n fwy swil, a’u hunan-hyder yn beth bregus. Mae’n goblyn o anodd cael rheiny i yngan ‘rh’ neu ‘u’ yn gywir heb dynnu sylw at y ffaith eu bod nhw’n cael trafferth, a thorri eu calonnau. Ond mae ’na ffyrdd o’i wneud o, a dw i wedi bod yn dysgu hynny ar wahanol gyrsiau, ynghanol llwyth o diwtoriaid eraill, sy’n andros o hwyl ond yn addysg go iawn hefyd. I have often laughed, but one must be careful with this. People are so different: some are perfectly happy to laugh when they make mistakes, but others are more shy, their self-confidence more brittle. It is devilishly difficult to get them to pronounce ‘rhy’ or ‘u’ correctly without drawing attention to the fact that they are having difficulty, and breaking their hearts. But there are ways of doing this, and I have learnt those on various courses, among many other tutors, who are great fun but also teach very well.

Y peth gorau wnes i oedd ‘Y Cymwhyster Cenedlaethol’, oedd yn gwrs dwy flynedd ar y pryd, ac yn golygu treulio penwythnosau ym Mhlas Tan y Bwlch, Maentwrog a phrifysgolion Bangor ac Aberystwyth gyda chriw o diwtoriaid newydd eraill. Y darn gwaethaf o’r cwrs oedd gorfod rhoi gwers fach 10 munud i’r tiwtoriaid eraill, ac ro’n i’n wirion o nerfus! Es i drwy fy ngwers ar y patrwm ‘mae gen i’ mor hurt o gyflym, ro’n i’n swnio fel reiffl AK47. The best thing I did was ‘Y Cymwhyster Cenedlaethol’ (The National Qualification), which at the time was a two-year course, and involved spending weekends in Plas Tan y Bwlch (the Snowdonia National Park Environmental Studies Centre), Maentwrog and Bangor and Aberystwyth universities with a crew of other new tutors. The worst part of the course was having to give short 10-minute lessons to the other tutors, and I was really nervous! I went through my lesson on the pattern ‘mae gen i’ at such a ridiculous pace I sounded like an AK47 rifle!

Mi gawson ni wers Groeg un tro, oedd yn dangos i ni pa mor ofnadwy o anodd ydi dysgu a chofio dim ond 4 neu 5 ffordd o ddeud ‘helo’, ‘sut dach chi’ a ‘da iawn diolch’ mewn iaith sy’n gwbl estron. Iawn, doedd y ffaith fod yr wyddor Groegaidd mor wahanol ddim yn help, ond egwyddor y peth oedd yn bwysig. Mewn stafell gynnes pan mae’r brêns wedi blino ar ôl diwrnod o waith, mae hi’n anodd iawn, iawn cofio pethau sy’n ymddangos mor syml i ni, y bobl sy’n siarad yr iaith ers y crud. Dwi’n ystyried fy hun yn ieithydd, ond roedd fy mhen i fel gogor yn y diwedd. One time we had a lesson in Greek, which showed us how dreadfully difficult it is to learn and remember nothing more than four or five ways of saying ‘Hello’, ‘How are you’ and ‘Very well, thank you’ in a wholly foreign language. True, the fact that the Greek alphabet is so different was not a help, but the principle was important. In a warm room, when the brains are tired after a day's work, it is very, very difficult to remember things that seem so simple to us, the people who have spoken the language from the cradle. I consider myself to be a linguist, but by the end my head felt as if it were stuffed with straw.

Diolch i’r cyrsiau hynny, a gwylio tiwtoriaid profiadol wrth eu gwaith, dw i wedi dysgu sut i egluro ambell reol iaith sy’n drysu dysgwyr, a minnau erioed wedi gorfod meddwl am y peth tan hynny. Dw i’n dal i orfod deud ‘achos mae o jest yn!’ weithiau, wrth gwrs, neu bydd hanner y wers wedi mynd i geisio egluro’r un rheol hwnnw, a phawb ond y ‘geek’ gramadegol ofynodd y cwestiwn wedi mynd i gysgu. Thanks to those courses, and to watching professional tutors at their work, I have learnt how to explain a good few of the language rules which perplex learners, and me never having had to think about them till then. Of course, I still sometimes have to say 'because that's just the way it is!', or half the lesson would be gone in trying to explain this one rule, with everyone except the grammar geek who asked the question having gone to sleep.

Felly faint o ddosbarthiadau sy gen i? Fydda i ddim yn hollol siŵr tan fis Medi, wedi i bobl gofrestru. Yn wahanol i ardaloedd Bangor, Wrecsam a Chaerdydd, mae mwy o ddefaid na phobl yn yr ardal hon, ac ar y cyfan, pobl o Loegr sydd wedi ymddeol i Gymru sy’n dod i wersi Cymraeg, ac os fyddan nhw wedi cael eu llyncu gan y ghettos Saesneg a seisnig “Oh, you don’t need to waste your time learning Welsh, come to pottery/bridge/The Rotary with us instead”, mae’n anodd iawn iddyn nhw ymarfer eu Cymraeg y tu allan i’r dosbarth, ac maen nhw’n rhoi’r ffidil yn y to. So, how many courses do I run? I will not be entirely sure till September, after people have registered. Unlike Bangor, Wrexham and Cardiff there are more sheep than people in the area, and on the whole it is English people who have retired to Wales who come to Welsh lessons, and if they have been swallowed up by the English and English-speaking ghettos ('Oh, you don’t need to waste your time learning Welsh, come to pottery/bridge/The Rotary with us instead') it is very difficult for them to practise their Welsh outside the class, and they give up.

Ond fel arfer, mae gen i ddau ddosbarth bob dydd Llun yn Nolgellau (lefel Sylfaen/Canolradd) a gan fod un o diwtoriaid eraill Meirionnydd wedi cael efeilliaid (llongyfarchiadau Lowri!) dw i’n cymryd ei dosbarthiadau hi yn ardal Harlech bob dydd Mawrth, un criw wedi bod yn dysgu ers blwyddyn a’r criw arall yn rai uwch, arbennig o dda, sy’n hawdd iawn eu dysgu. But as a rule, I run two courses on a Monday in Dolgellau (Foundation/Intermediate level), and since one of the other tutors in the Meirionnydd area has had twins (congratulations Lowri!) I am taking her classes in the Harlech region on a Tuesday, one set of pupils having been learning for a year and the other set at the higher level, and particularly able, who are very easy to teach.

Ond dw i wedi cael ambell ddosbarth oedd yn anodd iawn, iawn eu dysgu, fel y mamau a’u plant bach yn fy mlwyddyn gyntaf. Ro’n i’n gorfod mynd â llond gwlad o deganau a llyfrau plant (mi wnes i wario ffortiwn yn siop Oxfam) efo fi bob tro, a bisgedi a stwff i wneud paned a diod oren/piws, a cheisio dysgu’r mamau tra roedd Declan yn ceisio crogi Maisie bach druan, ac wedyn ceisio tawelu’r dyfroedd rhwng mamau’r ddau. Ro’n i’n falch iawn, iawn pan ddaeth y gwersi hynny i ben. But I have had some classes who were very, very difficult to teach, like the mothers and their small children in my first year. I had to take a whole load of toys and children's books with me every time (I spent a fortune in the Oxfam shop) and biscuits and stuff for making tea and orange/blackcurrant juice, and try to teach the mothers while Declan was trying to throttle poor little Maisie, and then try to calm the waters between the two mothers. I was very, very glad when those lessons came to an end.

Un broblem sy’n codi ydi bod y tiwtora ’ma’n mynd yn ’chydig o obsesiwn. Alla i ddim gwrando ar ganeuon Cymraeg rŵan heb feddwl ‘W, tybed fyddai hon yn handi ar gyfer dysgu geirfa newydd neu “mi ges i” neu ryw batrwm tebyg?’ Ond yn aml, mae’r ynganu’n rhy niwlog, neu’r iaith yn rhy gymhleth. Ystyriwch hynny tro nesa, da chi, fandiau Cymraeg! One problem that arises is that this tutoring becomes a bit of an obsession. I cannot listen to Welsh songs now without thinking, ‘Ooh, I wonder if that would come in handy for teaching new vocabulary or ‘mi ges i’ or some such pattern? ’ But frequently the singing is too indistinct or the language too complicated. Think about this next time, right, you Welsh bands!

Y broblem fwya sydd gen i ydy mod i’n chwerthin yn hawdd iawn. Er enghraifft, ro’n i’n dysgu rhannau’r corff i’r mamau, ac wedi dysgu ‘pen’, dyma un yn deud ‘Aha! So this must be pedwar pen!’ gan bwyntio at ei thalcen... The biggest problem I have is being too apt to laugh. For example, I was teaching mothers parts of the body, and after learning ‘pen’ (head) one of them says ‘Aha, so this must be pedwar pen (four head)’ pointing to her forehead.

Wedyn roedd y dyn hwnnw oedd yn mynnu ynganu ‘ch’ fel ‘ck’ ac yn gwneud brawddegau anffodus efo’r gair ‘coch.’ Then there was this man who insisted on pronouncing ‘ch’ as ‘ck’ and made some unfortunate sentences with the word ‘coch’ (red).

Ac mae’r gwahaniaeth rhwng ‘rhiw’, ‘rhyw’, ‘rhaw’ a ‘rhew’ yn hwyl bob amser wrth gwrs. And of course, the difference between ‘rhiw’ (slope, hillside), ‘rhyw’ (sex), ‘rhaw’ (shovel, spade) and ‘rhew’ (frost) is good for a laugh every time.

Dw i ddim eisiau gormod o ddosbarthiadau oherwydd dw i ddim yn ddigon trefnus i gadw mwy o ffeiliau a chofrestrau mewn trefn. Mae fy nhŷ i fel tomen ers i mi ddechrau tiwtora, ond o leia dwi wedi cael gwared o’r holl deganau oedd gen i ar y dechrau. Roedd yr holl lygaid tedis yn codi ofn ar y ci, bechod. I do not want to run too many courses because I am not organised enough to keep more files and registers in order. My house is like a tip since I started tutoring, but at least I have got rid of all the toys I had at the beginning. All those teddy bear's eyes were frightening the dog, bless her.

Hefyd, mae gen i straeon a nofelau i’w sgwennu – awdures ydw i weddill yr wythnos. A’r llyfr diweddaraf ydy ‘Yn ei Gwsg’ – nofel ar gyfer dysgwyr cyfnod Sylfaen. Mae cariad fy nith yn blismon, ac mi ges i help gynno fo efo’r stwff plismonaidd. Also, I have stories and novels to write – the rest of the week I am an author. And the latest book is ‘Yn ei Gwsg’ (In his Sleep) – a novel for learners at the Foundation stage. My niece's boyfriend is a policeman, and I got help from him with the police stuff.