Last week, I had the amazing experience of being interviewed by S4C Dysgu Cymraeg, S4C’s brand new service for language learners. (If you’ve never heard of S4C, it’s Britain’s only Welsh language television channel and it’s definitely worth watching if you want exposure to all varieties of Welsh!)
I received the invitation to take part not too long after starting this website and its accompanying Facebook group, as they’d noticed how quickly the group had grown in such a short period of time. They were also intrigued by my language learning journey and how I ended up in Wales of all places after living in Japan and Italy.
Being a perfectionist of the worst kind, I tried to memorise exactly what I wanted to say the day before the interview. Reciting my lines in front of Mathieu, it seemed as if I had everything down pat – that is, until I sat down in front of the camera. With the lens pointed ominously in my direction, I went completely blank and found myself improvising. I could hit myself for all the silly mistakes I made! (Yes, I know, perfectionist!)
That said, Rhiannon (the interviewer) was an absolute star and did a wonderful job of making me feel relatively at ease. She also edited out a lot of the mistakes, so the final result looks much more cohesive than the actual interview was. 😉
Anyway, I hope you enjoy watching the interview as much as I did taking part! And if you are learning Welsh and have an interesting story to tell, I’d definitely recommend getting in touch with S4C Dysgu Cymraeg as there are always on the lookout for learners to interview!