‘What if this is Armageddon?’: Religion and the Welsh Press in the First World War

This article presents a detailed analysis of the views of experienced Welsh for Adults (WfA) tutors on learners’ pronunciation and the attention paid to teaching pronunciation in the sector. The data were collected by distributing an on-line questionnaire to experienced tutors in different parts of Wales, and by conducting focus groups with a sample of these tutors in two specific locations in Wales. The aims of the research are to establish how tutors perceive learners’ pronunciation difficulties and to what extent they are adequately trained to assist learners in this challenging aspect of language learning. The extent to which various aspects of pronunciation (e.g. producing specific sounds and intonation) affect learners’ ability to communicate effectively outside the classroom is also examined. A series of recommendations is presented at the end of the article which suggest how the WfA sector can improve its provision with regard to pronunciation. These recommendations concern the provision of courses, the training needed by tutors, resources that could be developed, the extracurricular activities that could take place, as well as further research which could inform pedagogy in the sector.

Rhododendron ponticum L. is an evergreen, woody shrub, belonging to the Ericaceae family. Native to parts of Spain, the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea coast, it was introduced to Britain in the eighteenth century. It has since developed into one of Britain’s most problematic invasive species, causing ecological and economic damage. This article discusses the history of R. ponticumin Wales, considering the environmental and social factors which have contributed towards its success here. The current situation in Wales is explained, including the damage it causes and the efforts undertaken to manage its spread. To conclude, the paper will evaluate how future environmental challenges will affect R. ponticum’s spread in Wales.

In answer to a call by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and with the support of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, Anne Marie Carty, Nick Jones and Dafydd Sills-Jones made a poetic/experimental documentary film in 2016, on the subject of Cors Fochno, near Borth. Cors Fochno is one of Western Europe’s major peat bogs, is home to a unique ecology, and also home to important scientific study, not least into climate change. The bog was therefore a useful filmic metaphor for a number of issues and perspectives, including the feelings of the local community towards wilderness, the sustainability of local farming, and more broadly the history and future of human relationship with the environment. The article traces the approaches and concepts behind the film, and by doing so places it in the tradition of ‘practice-as-research’.