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Once again this year, four people came through to the final of the Welsh Learner of the Year competition. The four were introduced in the Learners' Tent at the National Eisteddfod at Meifod. Then, at an evening awards ceremony, the name of the winner was announced. HTV cameras were there to follow the four for a Welsh language programme on S4C and an English language programme on ITV1 Wales.

The four finalists were Teresa Marie Cody from Aberystwyth, Glyn Davies from Aberriw, Mike Hughes from Carno and Aran Jones from Caernarfon. The standard was very high and the winner was Mike Hughes. Mike received £300 and the Welsh Learner of the Year trophy. The other three each received £100 and trophies. Congratulations to all four.

Teresa Marie Cody Teresa was raised as an Irishwoman in Birmingham. She came to Aberystwyth in 2001 to study Biology at the University but changed her mind and did Celtic Studies through the medium of English. She started learning Welsh as part of the course and by now follows the whole course through the medium of Welsh. Teresa enjoys socialising and now most of her friends at University are Welsh speakers, a fact that helps her improve her Welsh. She also works for the Welsh language organisation CYD and was a member of the CYD folk singing choir at the Eisteddfod in Meifod.

Glyn Davies
Glyn Davies is a farmer from Aberriw, Powys, but since 1999 he has been an Assembly Member. His interests are sports and gardening. His family all spoke Welsh, but his parents decided to speak English with him and his sister. After becoming an Assembly
Member, Glyn decided to learn Welsh and since 2000 has been having one-to-one lessons with Siân Jones, a Welsh Language Officer with Acen. By now Glyn is happy to speak Welsh with everyone, to use the language on the floor of the Assembly and to take part in Welsh language interviews. Learning the language has opened Glyn's eyes to the history of the language and its culture and he is sure in his own mind that Owain Glyndwr was a Tory!

Mike Hughes
Mike was born and raised in Surrey, but his father is a non-Welsh speaker from South Wales. Mike began learning Welsh from books eight years ago. By now he has done GCSE and A Level Welsh. He moved to the Carno area in Powys four years ago and lives there with his fiancée Andrea, who intends to start learning Welsh. Mile is a Rural Outreach Worker with a mental health project. He is also a member of the Maldwyn Literary Circle, he writes a Welsh Learners column for the local newspaper Seren Hafren, and is a Welsh for Adults tutor. His hobby is gardening and he is also doing an external degree. He's obviously a very busy man!

Aran Jones
Aran Jones lives and works in Caernarfon. In his leisure time he enjoys playing the guitar and the saxophone and is busy with the Welsh language activist group Cymuned. His grandparents were Welsh speakers but they moved to England when his mother was six years old. Since February 2003 he has been an officer with Gwynedd Council, a council that uses the Welsh language in the workplace. He went on a Welsh Wlpan course in August 2000 and again in August 2001. Since then Aran has been using the language naturally in his everyday life and now feels that he is completely Welsh.

HELP