The Southern Regional Assembly, the Executive Office Northern Ireland, the Welsh Government, and the Scottish Government are collaborating for DISC-Developing Irish Sea Cooperation project.
It aims to create a strategy and action plan for cross-border collaboration between Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
SaySomethingin was invited to the Cardiff DISC symposium, which brought together academics, practitioners, and policymakers from various spheres of society to discuss collaboration in three main areas.…
Sustainable Blue Economy
Innovation in Health and Life Sciences
Communities & Culture
This latter area of Communities & Culture covers our reason for being – language revitalisation.
One break out session around the question, “How can we promote the acquisition and use of minority languages among young people?” was timely given the recent launch of our spoken Irish module.
We thank Agile Cymru for their kind invitation and look forward to continuing to deliver language revitalisation initiatives around the Irish Sea.
Our mission was clear: to promote the recently launched SSi spoken English course designed specifically for Japanese speakers, aligning Japan’s educational goals with Welsh technical creativity and unique language learning methodology.
In Tokyo, SSi met with a range of potential major partners in the education and EdTech sectors, exploring how our conversational English module could support professionals, students, and young learners who want to speak English confidently in real-life scenarios.
Throughout the mission, we built strong new contacts with Japanese organisations and networks that share our commitment to learner-centred, spoken English education.
These relationships, we hope, will grow into long-term partnerships, helping us establish a meaningful presence not just in Japan, but across Asia, where English remains a bridge to new opportunities.
The other Welsh companies attending the Trade Mission were wonderful ambassadors for Wales and their various sectors, we also look forward to staying in close contact with all of them.
SSi are excited for what lies ahead, and grateful to the Welsh Government for providing the platform to take Welsh innovation to the world stage.
Celebrating Wales-Japan Cooperation at the Embassy of Japan
16th Jun 2025
SSi was invited to a reception at the Embassy of Japan for a celebration of the deepening ties between Wales and Japan — a midpoint marker in the year of Wales/Japan collaboration.
Held in the heart of London, at the Embassy of Japan, the event brought together leaders and innovators from both nations, from diverse sectors such as culture, education, sport and business.
The reception opened with remarks from two distinguished guests: the Welsh First Minister, Eluned Morgan, and the Japanese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hiroshi Suzuki. Both spoke with sincerity and vision, reflecting on the achievements so far and the mutual respect that continues to grow between Wales and Japan.
From student exchanges to cultural showcases, from renewable energy projects to creative industries, their speeches acknowledged the remarkable progress made — and the even more exciting opportunities on the horizon, such as the launch of the SSi spoken English module for Japanese speakers’.
A real highlight was a performance by the acclaimed Welsh choir Only Boys Aloud, who captivated the room with a stirring set that culminated in a heartfelt rendition of Calon Lân. The performance earned a well-deserved standing ovation.
Adding a touch of fun, guests got to meet Myaku-Myaku, the colourful and quirky mascot of Expo 2025 in Osaka. Aran dragged Nick onto the stage to get a selfie!
SSi are one of 20 Welsh companies taking part in the upcoming Welsh Trade Mission to Japan later this month as we seek local partners to jointly market and develop the new spoken English module.
Japanuary: Can You Really Learn Japanese in 10 Days?
29th Jan 2025
On January 13th 2025, three determined members of the SSi team, Aran, Tom and Kai, embarked on a bold and ambitious challenge, to learn Japanese in just 10 days.
What started as a seemingly impossible task turned into one of the most intense and rewarding language-learning experiences they’d ever faced.
Their journey began in a cottage nestled in the foothills of Eryri, Wales. While this might sound like the perfect location for a peaceful retreat, it was anything but a holiday for the team! They committed themselves to an immersive and rigorous learning schedule, aiming to reach a level where they could hold meaningful conversations with each other and even native speakers by the end of the challenge.
To achieve this ambitious goal, Arm, Tom and Kai have been using the newly developed SaySomethingin App, a cutting-edge tool which is designed to make language learning more accessible, immersive and fast-paced. Over the 10 days, they pushed the boundaries of what’s possible, testing not only their capacity to absorb new information but also their resilience and determination.
The Struggles and Triumphs Along the Way
By day 3, the team was already experiencing the intensity of the challenge Aran shared his feelings on our forum:
“I’m feeling pretty tired and intimidated going into day 3 – Tom and Kai are both quite a bit ahead of me, I spent a chunk of yesterday trying to get my app reset to the beginning, and I’m running on the trial webapp for now, to get the extra repetitions.
But even as the back marker of the team, I’m getting some of the early signs of progress that Kai is talking about – I feel swamped with words that I can’t quite remember, but I’m starting to be able to do some small amounts of independent production.
I’m also starting to understand the scale of the ten-day challenge – all I want to do today is sleep!”
Despite the challenges, the team’s perseverance paid off. Kai remained optimistic and documented their impressive progress:
“Massive update today—we just had a 45-minute chat, 100% in Japanese. As in, real communication, where we said many things, understood what others said, and could respond with more than just ‘hai’.”
Moments like these fueled their motivation and proved that the intensive approach was yielding tangible results.
Putting Their Skills to the Test
Day 10 of their journey took place in a Japanese restaurant in Chester, where the team put their newfound skills to the test. They were able to engage in meaningful conversations not only with each other but also with the restaurant staff. What had seemed like an overwhelming challenge just days earlier now felt like a major triumph.
Why Learn Japanese?
So, why did the SSi team undertake this whirlwind language journey? Along with testing and showcasing the capabilities of the new SSi App, 2025 is the year of a larger initiative, in Wales and Japan.
This campaign, which is the fifth in a series which is led by the Welsh Government, seeks to strengthen the cultural and economic ties between the two countries.
As part of this initiative, a £150,000 Arts Fund, managed by Wales Arts International and British Council Wales, will be launched to foster artistic collaborations between the two nations. The fund aims to inspire new creative projects, engage diverse audiences and deepen existing partnerships. Learning Japanese, as the SSi team demonstrated, is an important step in building these bridges and opening up opportunities for deeper connections.
What’s Next?
The overwhelming success of this challenge highlights not only the potential of the SSi App but also the rewards of diving headfirst into a new language. Aran, Tom, and Kai have shown that with focus, determination, and the right tools, it is possible to make astonishing progress in just 10 days.
We couldn’t be prouder of their achievement, and we can’t wait to see how their Japanese journey continues to unfold.
If you’re curious to learn more about their journey, check out our forum for their reflections, updates and tips. Who knows? Maybe you’ll feel inspired to start your very own Japanuary adventure!
A massive congratulations to Aran, Tom and Kai on their incredible accomplishment. Here’s to many more language learning milestones ahead!
We have been hugely encouraged by last year’s comprehensive process evaluation of the SaySomethingin (SSi) Welsh language intervention pilot in Cardiff and Caerphilly schools.
The research was carried out by Peter Russell, a Cardiff University PhD student, and was totally independent of SSi.
The main take out was that as little as 5 minutes a week with SSi leads to significantly improved results (where considerably more time spent on other approaches is not moving the needle at all).
Other highlights include:
Use of SSi has a small but statistically significant positive impact on results for other approaches
In observation and anecdotally, levels of teacher engagement drive improved student results (which in this research is not the case for other approaches)
The data suggests SSi learners may show strong rates of retention, as compared to significant language attrition for other approaches
Students in interviews speak very positively about microlessons (the 5 minute burst with SSi)
The reverse bell curve of results with SSi suggests that disengaged students become more disengaged over time (ie, there is a polarising effect)
Teachers say some of the successful/engaged students with SSi are not students usually recognised as being academically strong (one of the most important points of the study)
See the full report for yourself and do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or comments.
In the week that the Wales XV travelled to the Aviva Stadium for their third match of the Six Nations Championship, a SaySomethingin team of Aran and Nick were also in Dublin to share SSi technology and methodology with key Irish language bodies.
Thanks to help from the Welsh Government’s Agile Cymru initiative, SSi has been able to build relationships with the Irish Government, the Irish equivalent(s) of our National Centre, Conradh na Gaeilge, Foras na Gaeilge, and the AI-driven digital language experts at ADAPT, who are based at Dublin City University.
There is a strong desire to use proven methods to increase the use of spoken Irish. The reaction to our presentations where Welsh was taught using SSi methodology was just brilliant.
Whilst it is still early days, SSi is confident in delivering an Irish course for English speakers with the help of these partners by the end of the year.
So, unlike the Welsh XV, the two SSi’ers came back buzzing with positivity.
SaySomethingin are honoured and proud to have gained Living Wage accreditation.
The Living Wage is an hourly rate of pay, independently calculated each year based on the real cost of living in the UK.
It is higher than the minimum wage and applies to all workers over 18, included contracted staff.
The Living Wage movement is made up of a wide range of businesses and organisations in every type of sector.
Those who have gained the accreditation include small independents, FTSE 100 companies and household names like; IKEA, Nationwide, Aviva, Everton and Chelsea Football Clubs, Majestic Wine, LUSH, the House of Commons and many more.
Everyone at SSi supports this initiative and will happily promote the Living Wage with all our learners, contacts and partners.
SSi and the Welsh Government’s Latest Language Policy
23rd Apr 2023
SSi stands on the shoulders of the Welsh language. The history, beauty, and plight of this language were the catalysts for inventing our unique methodology. Also, it is via the Welsh language that our methodology has, many times over the years, been tested and improved to ensure the best results.
We are immensely proud of the fact that our course is helping to strengthen the Welsh language and that we have become one of the many building blocks which we hope will secure the future of one of Europe’s oldest living languages.
Being one of the building blocks means that we see ourselves as part of an ever-growing team of experts. From educators to marketing professionals, language specialists to government officials, we’ve become part of an impressive network of teams brought together to strengthen the Welsh government’s campaign to reach a million Welsh speakers by 2050.
Because of all this, we’re genuinely delighted to see SaySomethingin mentioned in the Welsh Government’s latest policy and strategy document Cymraeg 2050: Welsh Language Strategy Action Plan 2023 to 2024.
And not just mentioned, but described as an ‘exciting project’ – it’s certainly got all of us pretty excited! And we can’t wait to see the results.
SSi is proud to have a long-standing relationship with Global Welsh – a superb initiative devoted to creating a global Welsh community.
Established in 2015, their aim, based on the belief that being Welsh is more than just geography, is to bring together Welsh people from around the world, and those with an affinity and love for Wales, in one online community. The objective of this community is to foster links, opportunities, and connections with other global members.
Since their official launch in 2017, Global Welsh has gone from strength to strength, extending their community to all parts of the globe and strengthening their connections.
This month, SSi features in Global Welsh’s Business Spotlight Section. This great piece written by Bethan Payne focuses on our Non-Executive Director, Nick Prichard. Nick discusses with Bethan his journey to SSi, the company’s rich provenance, bespoke methodology, and plans for the future.
We are really happy that some course development films we posted were picked up by Nation Cymru last week.
Welsh is core to all that SaySomethingin does, but we realise that our methodology is suited to all languages. We have a long-term goal of creating courses for every language, especially indigenous or endangered ones.
To this end, we are developing some pilot projects in Sri Lanka to help Tamil and Sinhala speakers learn each other’s languages and English.
We are working closely with an amazing locally-based charity called The Tea Leaf Trust, (https://tealeaftrust.com,) to train rural people to become teachers of our methodology so that they can help themselves become more self-sufficient whilst boosting their community’s overall employability at the same time.
To introduce the power of our methodology in our “Anyone Can Teach” programme, we teach Welsh, a totally new language to the pupils.
Imagine our delight when after an hour we have a room full of Sri Lankans speaking Welsh!
Check out the films and Nation Cymru article below:
