American judge travels 4,000 miles to take Welsh-language exam

By Filipa Gaspar

A man from the USA traveled 4,000 miles to sit a Welsh-language exam.

Jeff Narvil, 58, from Jackson, Mississippi, has spent the past 14 months studying Welsh in his free time.

The administrative law judge learned the language largely solo - using apps, textbooks and online resources.

In January, he traveled to the University of Cardiff to take the A1 language exam - which tests reading, writing, listening and speaking.

On learning Welsh, Jeff said the more time he put into it "the more he enjoyed it."

"I enjoyed it, or I would have quit, because nobody made me do this," he said.

"It was 100 per voluntary, and there are many languages, and there are many other things to do with your free time.

"But the more time I put into it, the more I enjoyed it.

"Then the experience of finally getting to go to Wales.

"I planned it so that I could experience the country for the week before the exam, and I loved the few brief times I got to practice with somebody.

"I really enjoy trying to read the road signs, or read things at the restaurant.

"That, to me, was very entertaining, and people smiled and made it worth it."

Apart from Welsh, Jeff, originally from Atlanta, Georgia, took the European A2 levels in French, Spanish, and German and he A1 in Italian and Irish.

Jeff said he has always been interested in language and history.

He became aware of the Welsh language 15 years ago while studying Irish and the different Celtic languages.

As life got busy, only in late 2024 when he was looking to learn another language, Jeff decided to give Welsh a try.

He said: "Welsh came to mind as something that I thought would be, in fact, very different and unusual.

"I thought it was a great connection to my love of travel, and my love of my ancestors, and British history - and I have no regrets.

"I have really enjoyed the time that I spent on it.

"One of the attractions about studying Welsh, is that there was an exam that was available, and having that deadline is very motivating sometimes.

"Knowing that I had to be ready by the end of January to do that."

As a self-taught learner, apps, textbooks and online resources were key, but said the lack of people to practise within the US made learning difficult.

He said: "I did not take any lessons online. The only online class that I took was where the teacher was to prepare for the exam, which was a four hour class, one week before the exam.

"I had to get up at 3 a.m. and order to do that, because of the time change, I'm six hours behind Wales.

"I did Duolingo every day for over a year, I read some books about the history of the Welsh language."

Time difference added to the challenge, with some online courses scheduled for the early hours of the morning in Mississippi.

"I would like to have taken the language course, because I do think they do a great job," Jeff said.

"It's just that with a time change, it's very difficult and with my work schedule.

"I would recommend other people do the class, though, because, especially living in Mississippi, there's zero opportunity to speak to somebody who knows Welsh.

"Nobody can correct my pronunciation if I learned it incorrectly. It would have been much better in hindsight for me to hire a tutor or something like that online."

Alongside the exam in Cardiff, Jeff and his partner Fran Weeks traveled across the country, visiting Caerphilly castle, St Davids in Pembrokeshire, Betwys-y-Coed in Conwy county and Harlech in Gwynedd.

He said: "I made the best of it. I made a complete circle around Wales.

"I went to all three national parks. I visited several castles.

"I love genealogy, and my partner and I, we're both very, very great grandchildren of King Edward's, so we went to visit some of his castles and I loved all that."

He also had the chance to practise his Welsh with local people, including shop staff and cafe workers.

Jess said people were encouraging and patient when he explained he was learning the language.

Although he does not yet know whether he passed the exam, Narvil said taking it had already achieved its purpose.

He said: "It'd been a long time since I was in a university classroom, but it brought back a lot of good memories.

"I cannot believe how encouraging everybody's been about the exam.

"It's been overwhelming, and it's been very, very positive, and it really makes me want to continue to study Welsh.

"But I'm gonna wait to see how I do on these exams. If I failed it, I don't know that I can do much better in the future without courses or speakers.

"But if I passed it, then maybe I could continue to go a little further beyond day one."

Jeff's exam results are expected in early March.