An innovative new service to S4C will encourage non-Welsh speaking parents to learn the language whilst enjoying Cyw programmes with their children.
Ti, Fi a Cyw is the name of the new digital resource which will provide key words, translations and suggestions to accompany some of Cyw’s most popular programmes.
During the Ti, Fi a Cyw slot, which will run between 7.00 and 8.00 every morning from 1 September onwards, a live Twitter feed, @tifiacyw will coincide with the programme.
The appearance of the TV screen will remain the same, but parents will be able to enjoy a light, informal Welsh lesson by following the live Twitter feed on their PC, tablet or mobile phone whilst watching.
Those who are not members of Twitter will still be able to follow @tifiacyw through the Cyw website.
Ti, Fi a Cyw will be launched at 4pm Thursday afternoon, 9 August in the S4C pavilion in the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Vale of Glamorgan 2012.
Sioned Wyn Roberts, Children’s Commissioner for S4C says, “Children love watching Cyw with their parents. But over half the children who watch regularly come from families where Welsh isn’t the language in the home.
“The new @tiafiacyw service will encourage non-Welsh speaking parents and learners to join in the fun of watching Cyw with their children, and at the same time, will offer an opportunity to learn the language. We hope to give parents the confidence to go on and learn Welsh formally if they wish to do so."
The hope is that Ti, Fi a Cyw will be a great starting point and the @tifiacyw account will enable parents to contact each other.
“Ti, Fi a Cyw welcomes a whole new audience to watch S4C with their children – an audience which will use social media to share views, experiences, and the occasional joke about parenting in a bilingual household,” adds Sioned Wyn Roberts.
Leighton Andrews, Welsh Government Minister for Education and Skills, says, "I welcome this new project by S4C to help parents learn Welsh with their children through the popular Cyw programmes.
"One of the aims of our Welsh language strategy is to encourage and support the use of Welsh within families. This development, along with the Welsh for the Family course that I recently launched, will contribute to achieving this aim."
