The Open University Launches Online Course Which Takes Wales and Welsh to the World

The Open University Launches Online Course Which Takes Wales and Welsh to the World

The Open University has launched an online course which will give learners an insight into Welsh history and culture and help them to learn basic Welsh language skills.

‘Discovering Wales and Welsh’ was launched this week at the Senedd by the Assembly’s Presiding Officer, Elin Jones AM, and Director of The Open University in Wales, Rob Humphreys.

The course can be studied flexibly with students able to register at any time. It offers the chance to explore key aspects of Welsh culture and takes learners through basic Welsh language skills. It is designed in particular for people who live outside Wales or who may have come to live in Wales. The global reach of the OU means that the course can be followed anywhere in the world with access the internet.

Alongside the formal course, The Open University has also developed an interactive online portal which showcases Wales’ diverse culture and people through a series of videos and quizzes. Featuring short interviews with people who live and work in Wales such as rugby’s Nigel Owens, musician Kizzy Crawford and writer Angharad Price, ‘Hafan’ offers and free and unique way of exploring contemporary Wales providing a snapshot of Wales’ rich culture, language, geography and showing the Welsh language as a modern and natural part of our culture.

Speaking at the launch event in the Senedd, Rob Humphreys said:

“The OU in Wales is proud to play a part in promoting and enhancing and understanding of Wales. Hafan offers an accessible way for people to learn more about the diversity of Wales and its people and Discovering Wales and Welsh is perfect for those who want an introduction to Wales’s history, culture and language. We hope they will play a part in taking Wales to the widest possible audience through flexible, online study.”

The Llywydd, Elin Jones AM, said:

“The global reach of The Open University means that its Discovering Wales and Welsh course will really give Wales, and the Welsh language in particular, a world platform” “It is an exciting project that will introduce more people to Wales’s unique culture and language, an opportunity to sell Wales on the world stage.”

With its entirely online delivery the course is designed to complement the extensive Welsh for Adults provision that exists across Wales. The free-to-access Hafan site serves as a learning resource that can be used by tutors and institutions as an aid to their own provision, whether that is in the field of the Welsh language, history, politics or other areas.