Who’s going to be top of 2015’s Welsh class?
IT’S been a long week of entertaining lessons and adventurous activities including kayaking, rafting and falconry through the medium of Welsh but the time has come to crown the cariad@ iaith:love4language 2015 champion.
The result will be announced in the S4C programme on Saturday.
But which Welsh celebrity will be top of the class in this year’s series?
Over the past week, eight Welsh celebrities have tried their best to learn Welsh with the help of tutors Nia Parry and Ioan Talfryn using the unique teaching method, ‘desguggestopedia’. The stars of this year’s cariad@iaith:love4language are weatherman Derek Brockway, radio presenter Chris Corcoran, actor and writer Steve Speirs, CBeebies presenter Rebecca Keatley, actress Nicola Reynolds, West End star Caroline Sheen, athlete Jamie Baulch and ex-international rugby player Tom Shanklin.
“I’ve been surprised at just how much information and vocabulary has sunk in during the week –
it’s obvious that this method of teaching works and is effective,” says Chris, who presents his own radio show on BBC Radio Wales on Saturday afternoons. “It’s been a busy, exciting, challenging and tiring week, but certainly an enriching and worthwhile experience.
“I have no idea who’s going to win, but that’s not important. Everyone has improved their Welsh significantly, but I think the winner will be the person who’s shown the most improvement during the week and not necessarily the person with the best Welsh,” says Chris.
“Despite what everyone says, I don’t think Welsh is a particularly difficult language to learn and I really hope I’ll have the opportunity to develop my skills and learn more after the series comes to an end.”
Last year’s winner was Casualty actress Suzanne Packer, and some past contestants have continued their studies and are now fluent, including Melanie Walters, Ian ‘H’ Watkins and opera singer Wynne Evans who now co-presents the programme. cariad@iaith.love4language: S4C, Saturday, 9.30pm. English subtitles