When I saw this I was very pleased with myself, because I could read it. Like you I was born in Wales and have always wanted to speak Welsh. I was brought up in England so thought this would never happen. I moved back to Wales five years ago and started to learn Welsh at evening classes. It was not until I started the six month SSIW course that I felt that I could call myself a Welsh speaking Welsh woman.
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All my family speak Welsh and although I understand them I rarely say something in Welshā¦
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Hi Karen Da iawn for reading my post. Aran asked me to write in English. Where are you living in Wales now? Jill
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Having spent six years learning Welsh from books and SSIW, but still unable to speak it in conversation (which I think is due to having just listened and repeated quietly rather than spoken out loud), it would be great to understand and converse in the first language of my local community.
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Hi Jill I live in Knighton the border between England and Wales runs though the town so part is in England and part is in Wales, I live on the Welsh side. Very little Welsh is spoken here so we have to travel some distance to hear and speak Welsh, but it is worth it. The Welsh name for the town is Tref y Clywdd. The town on the ditch. The ditch being Offaās dike.
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I want to be a Welsh speaker because I remember my grandparents speaking it and it somehow got lost with the move to Australia.
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Iām learning welsh because my taid told me that he has no one to speak welsh to anymore and he misses it.
I learnt welsh in school and did it at A level but I still donāt feel confident speaking it to anyone, so Iām practising it with my dog 
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That sounds like one of the most powerful reasons possibleā¦ 
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If the dog gets fed up, there are plenty more of us not too confident Welsh speakers on Slack, also needing to practise!
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Even grumpy old ex-farmers get sentimental sometimes 
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Im only on lesson 2 but when I get a bit better Iāll definitely try it
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Continuing my mission to catch up on the 6 month course tasks I didnāt quite get round to when I should have, here, both five and two weeks late (I think) is the sentence I wrote which was simply:
āI want to be able to speak the language of my adopted homeā
I could, of course, offer more reasons than that, but really that should be a no-brainer. Pity it isnāt, by default.
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Generally, I want to become a Welsh speaker because it will open up a new world of creative opportunities and new friendships. Iāve recorded songs with musicians & singers around the world and hope to do so with like-minded Welsh people.
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I want to be a Welsh speaker because I think it is important to retain the language which has facilitated such a unique and beautiful culture, and from where so many amiable, generous people come.
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I love languages, meeting people and understanding their culture. Welsh is such a rich and wonderful language that, notwithstanding mutation headaches, it deserves to be kept alive and kicking! Oh and finally, having lived in Wales since 1989, I felt thoroughly ashamed that I hadnāt found time to try and learn this beautiful language.
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Thatās exactly how I feel. I moved here (which was not necessarily planned, but thatās life), and it never occurred to me that I could just not learn Welsh. I am really glad I started, but now I have the extra motivation of a Cymraeg partner.
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We moved four years ago to the street in Llanelli next to where my wife grew up, and where her father still lives. She has shown no interest (yet?!) in developing the Cymraeg she learned in school, but as I throw bits of Cymraeg at her when practising, itās clear she knows more than sheās ever let on.
When I was a student I got into loads of Welsh language bands - Llwybr Llaethog, Datblygu, Anrhefn, Fflaps etc, and and now love listening to the likes of 9 Bach, Gwenno, Adwaith, Georgia Ruth, but Iām dimly aware of a rich cultural and literary life in which I can only dip my toes in the shallows at the moment.
So thereās my longer answer!
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Good place to live for some real Welsh. Even if you are on the wrong side of the Loughor Bridge 
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I want to be a Welsh speaker because I want to have a deeper connection with my heritage.
My gg grandparents were from Llanelli and emigrated to America in 1870. Iām incredibly proud of my Welsh heritage and Iāve been researching my family history for years and years (uh, it takes years and years when youāre trying to make sure that youāre tracing the right Williams or Thomas line!). The first time that I went to Llanelli, I felt right at home and vowed that one day, I would learn to speak Welsh. Over the years, I have armed myself with loaaads of Welsh language books Iād flip through them and learn bits and pieces but it wasnāt until now that Iām actually making it all a priority. (Hooray!)
Iām so grateful to SSiW and the 6 month course for helping me with my goal!
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Next time youāre in Llanelli, give me a shout, and we can have a face-to-face practice.
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