Hehe. Well done Elisabeth. Do you know I’m imagening you standing on your head? That only imagening is brilliant what if it would happen though!
Well done! (hope you’ll see this comment later on).
Here’s the shortlist: I can’t see any SSiWer in this years final, which see’s five people going forward…
•Gari Bevan, Bedlinog
•Deiniol Carter, Caerdydd
•Debora Morgante, Rhufain
•Dianne Norrell, Sir Drefaldwyn
•Patrick Young, Llan Ffestiniog
No, it wasn’t me competing this year. It was Deborah Morgante from Rome, whom I heard speaking wery good Cymraeg this week at Shan Cothi’s program. I can see that she made it to the final so I’m very glad for her.
Gaby
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Here she is
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She speaks really well, Gabby. Having heard, Elizabeth on the radio it must have been knife-edge decision making as she’s as good as Debora.
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Da best!
Da iawn ti Debora! Llongyfarchiadau!
Unfortunately I did not get through to the final either. The ten minute interview passed surprisingly quickly. The judges did not seem to want to trip you up with the questions, although I my interview Siân Lloyd did virtually all the talking. The day was long and at times boring but the best bit was talking to fluent Welsh speakers and the interview with Nia Parry.
I stayed in Gregynog Friday and was lucky to be able to walk around the gardens because it poured with rain on the Saturday when they had planned a guided tour.
The judges said that it was difficult to make a decision. They made a short list of eight but could not reduce it to the four required so selected five people to go through. It was difficult to understand what they were looking for.
It would be nice to receive some sort of feedback on things done well, things done badly.
I met Debora at a residential course in Lampeter earlier this year. She does a long distance learning course through the University. She is a very nice person. We have exchanged emails in Welsh a number of times.
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Looking forward to seeing you and all the others when the broadcast goes out on, S4C. Having heard
Elizabeth on, Bore Cothi, and Debora also, to my ear - both of an equal standard - the judges must have had a really difficult time deciding this year…Reflected in that five people went through this year.
I’d love to know the judges thought process in deciding. It remains a total mystery to me…Mind you, Patrick Young, being an International Opera Director would bring some attention to the competition and may have helped his chances…
Gari Bevan is from Merthyr Tudful.
Yes, Llanddinol, that would be my main complaint, if you want to call it a complaint. I had no idea what they were assessing - the application, the interview, the story? Feedback would be great. Also, the quality of the Skype hook up was poor. Sian did most of the talking in my interview too but I never saw her face.
I have a sneaking suspicion they are more interested in people who have studied Welsh traditionally. Maybe that is incorrect and ungenerous. But it does seem odd to me that with the high standard of SSiW applicants over the years that none have made the final - apart from Cat. I’m thinking of Dinas, Dee, Sarah Jane, Robert Bruce. I’m sure there are others who I don’t know as well.
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If Aran said it would help my Welsh I’d have no choice but to believe him. His methods have all worked so far. 
but yes, imagine:
Husband: what are you doing?
Me: Aran said this will help me win dysgwr y flwyddyn.
Doing the intensive all Welsh day at home was amazingly effective. I felt like my Welsh was getting quite fluid by the end of the day. But I’m pretty exhausted now. I am of course thinking of all the ways I could have said things better. But that can be applied to all interviews. In terms of my Welsh, in that moment, I was happy with sounds that came out of my mouth
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Um, well, then there must be at least partial the case. But, we can’t change that, can we? Is the jury (or whatever it called) always the same? If so, then some “refreshment” on that part too, would do some difference. (just a thought)
However, one day … I believe … there will be all mentioned above and more of SSiW-ers who will (not would, but will) mean standard in learning languages. Just wait and see! No jury can stop you for how good you speak. This is yours and no one can take it away from you. Competition is only competition and nothing more and you know by yourselves how good you speak, how much you understand and to how far you can go!
The goal is i SIARAD a DEALL and not i gystadlu, right?
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Firstly, I need to point out that I learned via the traditional route. The reason that I hang around here is because I wish there had been SSIW around when I was struggling through the early years of my learning. There were times when I thought “I’ve been learning for years now, and I still can’t say anything.” The value in SSIW, to me, is that it bypasses that early frustration and the tendency to assume that you’re never going to crack it.
As far as DyF is concerned, it’s worth noting two things. Firstly, the terms of the adjudication seem to be very fluid - I don’t think the panel ever know exactly what they’re looking for until they see/hear it. This, of course, makes the competition very difficult to prepare for.
And secondly, a major component of the competition is not how good your Welsh is, but what you’re doing with it, and again it’s very difficult to predict what is going to impress the adjudicators.
In short, it’s very much like any other Eisteddfod competition - unfathomable adjudications, obvious winners overlooked, baffled onlookers. It’s all part of a rich cultural tradition! 
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I believe competitions of all kinds are always like this. Even if you “compete” with only yourself you sometimes don’t exactly know what you are loooking for and when it happens then you know ---------------------------- THAT’S IT FOR GOD’S SAKE!
I’m finally slowly comming to that stage. 
I learned traditionally too Robert. I hadn’t meant to imply you hadn’t. Only that I’ve heard that your Welsh is of a very high standard. As I have heard of the others mentioned.
And I’m not trying to be negative or critical, just analytical. But in an interview you get a feel for what is going down well. In my case, I didn’t get a good return vibe when I started talking about what a difference SSiW had made in my language journey. Maybe I’m cynical and, an as Australian, I am definitely far too outspoken. 
But it seems to me when the government (any government) sets up an infrastructure - ie. Welsh for adults classes all over Wales - it is on their interests to promote them.
I’m woefully ingnorant of the Eisteddfod culture. But I’m no stranger to subjectivity. As a writer, I submit creative work regularly. Most publishers are clear about what they are looking for. In the best cases, there is feedback of a useful nature given. Clearly, eisteddfodau are different and this is, no doubt, part of my cross cultural journey. But as an Australian, it felt odd to be kicking at a moving goal. 
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It can be frustrating, there’s no doubt about it - the criteria are not clear, and must be very difficult for the judges as well.
Being an SSiW learner clearly doesn’t give you any extra brownie points, but I find it hard to imagine that there’s any conscious bias against people who namecheck a particular approach. I think the real issue is the cloudy line between a ‘learner’ and a Welsh speaker, which leads to some very high standard entrants.
But as Rob says, ‘cael cam’ is one of the central traditions of the Eisteddfod, and Liz, Hywel and Dee have every right to feel that, er, bod nhw wedi cael cam… 
…
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I am not suggesting a bias against, Aran, so much as a preference for. It seems to me that they are looking for a ‘poster person’ for Welsh adult learners. In my case, apart from my Welsh not being nearly fluent enough, I feel I may have shot myself in the foot by putting too much emphasis on my lack of progress while doing traditional lessons. If I was to be purely cynical, I may consider changing that if I ever tried again. As it is, I am happy with what I wrote in my application because it was the truth of my journey. I am also happy with my interview. I’m not for a moment suggesting I should have been in the final four. Although, it must sound like I’m having a good old whinge. But they did initially have a low number of entrants. It’s possible that clarity of criteria would make people more willing to enter. But as Robert Bruce said it is possibly lack of cultural understanding on my part.
From my working class perspective of watching over the years its a middle class thing and is never going to attract large numbers of Average Joe/Joanna entrants. Even this year a few of the entrants aren’t what I’d call learner learners…
Daily Post article on finalists…
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Having read this, I can see what Aran means about the cloudy line between learners and speakers.