13th October 2008
Wales Today's Si芒n Lloyd was on hand to help Derek with his Welsh as the pair took questions from learners at the 成人快手 Wales Here for You event in Wrexham.
Derek, who did Welsh O'level at Barry Boys' Comprehensive, decided to take up the language again for the first series of The Big Welsh Challenge, helped by the other Si芒n Lloyd, the weather presenter.
During the session in Wrexham he told the audience that he enjoyed using his Welsh with colleagues at work and he especially likes Welsh place names. "Learning Welsh means I'm more confident with pronunciation when I'm doing weather forecasts. It's so important to get them right or you can offend people," he says.
Si芒n was asked about her background and explained that her family moved over the border for a few years when she was a child, meaning that she had to re-learn Welsh, which was a challenge for her.
"I really enjoyed speaking to the learners," says Derek. "At times I couldn't think of the Welsh word but I hope I've managed to inspire other people to keep going with the language."
Derek advice to anyone learning Welsh is to practise as often as possible. "It's all about 'hyder' - 'confidence'. Don't be afraid of making mistakes and try to learn a new word every day."
