Where am I? Where am I going? What are the milestones?

I asked some questions on FB "Welsh Chat - for Learners" and a couple of people made some very valid points.

Where do I want to end up - what do I consider 'fluency' to be?   It is, of course, hard to get somewhere if you don't know where you are going.

So, it's time to begin to solidify my thinking about what I want to achieve, and over what timescale.

I read Benny Lewis' book "Fluent in Three Months" at the beginning of the year.  He suggests that 'fluent' is functional in the language - you don't have to understand everything, you don't have to have all the words, or never make a mistake.  His idea is probably around level A2 of the CEFR Language Levels (GCSE Higher level).  

I never considered myself 'fluent' in French although I was able to chat comfortably about most subjects, I read French language novels, I spent a week in an OU Summer School speaking only French, I was able to translate between monolingual speakers using a degree of technical language (scuba diving for example), I even won arguments in French - with real French speakers.  However, I wasn't able to understand absolutely everything said - I found watching films difficult, often because of the very colloquial nature of the language used.  But, looking back on it, what else did I need French for?  I could do everything that I needed to do - I was functionally fluent.  I also got to A* GCSE Spanish - I could do everything I needed, chatting, ordering food, buying things in a pharmacy, etc.  - once again, I was functionally fluent.

So, what do I want from Welsh?  Well, that's a difficult one.  I don't need to use Welsh in the same way as I have done in France and Spain.  However, on reflection, in addition to being able to speak Welsh to native speakers, I think that I want to be able to understand Welsh TV without subtitles (which doesn't require every single word), and I want to be able to read some Welsh language novels - not just those written for learners.  I've heard that Kate Jones is good, and that she wrote novels about life in Wales at the turn of the 20th C.  My gran was born in Wales then, I'd like a window on life in Wales at that time.

And, there we have it.  I hadn't thought about it before, but that's what I want, and it's a fairly tall order.

So where am I now?  I've just completed the Duolingo course, which I've heard suggested is about level A2.  I don't remember everything from the course, but I'm continuing to work through the exercises daily, and I'm backing up what I'm learning with reading.  I'm continuing to work through books, and I've started SSIW - because I really need to work on spoken language.  I've looked at the Mynediad examinations, and I don't think I'd have too much problem with them with a bit of preparation - so I'm probably somewhere between levels A1 and A2 - better at some aspects than others.  But, to be able to do what I want, then I'm going to have to be at least level B2.

I ought to be able to get to a good level A2 by later this year - depending upon what other pressures I have on me.  That means that it ought to be possible to get through B1 sometime next year, and to B2 by the end of 2019 - given that these correspond to AS level and A2 levels - each of which normally takes a year.  

So, that's my target, reading Kate Jones by the beginning of 2020.