WELSH LEARNER OF THE YEAR SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED

The semi final of the Welsh Learner of the Year was held over the weekend, and for the second time ever, the adjudicators have chosen five finalists rather than the usual four. The final will take place during the Monmouthshire and District National Eisteddfod, held in Abergavenny this summer.

This year’s finalists are Rwth Evans, Cardiff, Rachel Jones, Builth Wells, Naomi O’Brien, Bedlinog, Sarah Reynolds, Carmarthen and Hannah Roberts, Brynmawr

Eisteddfod Organiser, Elen Elis, said, “We usually have four finalists, but the adjudicators were adamant that five candidates deserved their place in the final.

“The Welsh Learner of the Year competition is one of the Eisteddfod’s main competitions, and the standard of the five finalists this year is amazing. All have such energy, commitment and a talent for languages, and this will be such a difficult competition to judge during Eisteddfod week.

“The standard was extremely high this year, and the adjudicators felt that many of the others also deserved to reach the final. But, as a competition, a long list has to become a shortlist, and they managed to whittle the list down to five in the end. Congratulations to everyone who took part in this year’s competition, and it’s so good to see such enthusiasm towards the language in the south east, as well as the rest of Wales and beyond.”

This year’s adjudicators are Elwyn Hughes, Sandra De Pol and Angharad Mair. The winner will be announced on Wednesday evening 3 August at a special ceremony. The winner will receive a trophy and £300, donated by the Gwent Welsh for Adults Centre, and a year’s subscription to Golwg. The other four finalists also receive a trophy and £100 each, also donated by the Gwent Welsh for Adults Centre.”

The Monmouthshire and District National Eisteddfod is held on Castle Meadows, Abergavenny from 29 – 6 August. For more information go to www.eisteddfod.wales.

The shortlist

Rwth Evans

Rwth’s grandmother’s family spoke Welsh but did not pass the language to the younger children in the family, including her father’s mother, as everyone believed that English was the only language needed to get on in life. The language also disappeared in her mother’s family; Rwth had a taste of Welsh at primary school, but nothing at secondary level. But this small taste was enough for Rwth to feel that there was something missing in her life, and when she travelled abroad with the school, she felt uneasy that people thought she was English as she couldn’t speak the language of her country.

She studied at university in Carmarthen and started learning Welsh immediately. She now plays an active part in the Menter Caerdydd group, Clonc yn y Cwtsh, meeting weekly and organising all sorts of activities. She represents her employers at the Eisteddfod or the Urdd annually on their stall, and has volunteered at Maes D. She has an admin role in a translation department, and this has given her a great opportunity to improve her Welsh.

She is also a Welsh language mentor for another young woman and enjoys tutoring a boy who is in an English school once a week. She also uses her Welsh skills as a volunteer with the RNIB, recording Welsh resources for the use of blind children in mainstream schools.

Rachel Jones

Rachel Jones is a farmer’s daughter from Builth Wells, who still lives on the family farm in Llanafan Fawr. She learnt Welsh as a second language at school in Builth Wells, and was inspired by her Welsh teacher, Steve Mason, himself a Welsh learner, while studying for her A’ level in Welsh as a second language. After leaving school, Rachel went to study Welsh and Maths at Aberystwyth University.

She lived in Neuadd Pantycelyn during her time at university, and this helped her as she continued to learn Welsh, and build her confidence to use the language. At the end of her time in college, she was offered the chance to train as a teacher at her old school in Builth Wells, teaching Maths to the Welsh language stream, working with the man who inspired her to learn Welsh, Steve Mason. She loves using Welsh at work every day and inspiring young people in the area.

Naomi O’Brien

Naomi is from Bedlinog, Merthyr Tydfil, and has been learning Welsh since 2010. She has Chinese roots, and has a strong understanding of the importance of identity. She has worked hard to change the language she uses with her children and step children, and the children now use Welsh as the language at home and in all elements of their lives. Naomi has run a Ti a Fi group and a Cylch Meithrin and has started a new career working as a teaching assistant at local primary and secondary schools.

She runs her own art company, ‘Neverbored’, which works bilingually, and uses Welsh on every advert produced by the company, although most of her clients are based in England and abroad. Her decision to promote Welsh is based on her love of the language rather than any commercial benefits.

Hannah Roberts

Hannah works as a Field Officer for the Language Initiative in Blaenau Gwent, Torfaen and Monmouthshire, promoting the use of Welsh across Blaenau Gwent and north Monmouthshire. She works with children and young people, families and the communities and loves her work, as it enables her to help to promote the language in her own locality.

She started learning Welsh ‘by accident’ when home from university one summer, and looking for something to do. She attended a taster course and loved it. She returned to Aberystwyth University and decided to change her course from Geography to a Welsh for beginners course in the Welsh Department. She lived in Neuadd Pantycelyn, and loved her time there, although she had to fight to get people to speak Welsh with her. So she started a Society for learners at the University to create opportunities for students to use and practise their Welsh.

Sarah Reynolds

Sarah has written a Welsh novel which is being published by Gwasg Gomer, and it’s difficult to believe that she has only been learning Welsh for seven years, as it is such a major part of her life.

She worked in London on TV programmes such as Big Brother and Strictly Come Dancing before her life changed completely on a ‘blind date’ with the Welshman who would become her husband, who introduced her to all things Welsh. She found work with TV company Telesgop in Swansea, and as most of the staff spoke Welsh, Sarah decided to have a go. Today, Welsh is the language of the home she shares with husband, Geraint and their two young children, Lyra and Atticus.

Sarah has always loved writing and is currently completing her MA in creative writing at Swansea University, and is writing an English novel dealing with the language and identity.