A solo spoken item in which one competitor delivers a set passage in Welsh from memory, marked on clarity, expression and command of the language rather than on original writing.
Llefaru is the Welsh word for speaking aloud, and in a Welsh-language youth festival it names the main spoken-word item: one competitor, one set passage, delivered in Welsh. It sits in the general recitation family, but the language is part of the item. A listener is not only checking that the words are remembered; they are listening to whether the Welsh sounds natural, with the right stresses, the right mutations and the rhythm a fluent speaker would give it.
On the eTalenter Welsh festival template it is an Individual item for both genders, offered in every one of the seven school-year bands, from the youngest pupils (Year 2 and under) through Years 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10-11 and 12-13 to a 14-25 band. Competitors are grouped by school year, not by an age range, and the age is fixed on one calendar date, so the band an entrant belongs to depends on their school year when that date falls. The language is fixed to Welsh, which keeps the item distinct from the general Recitation page, where the passage can be in any language.
A round runs as a call sheet. Each competitor is called alone, stands at the front, and delivers the passage within the time allowed. The panel marks as the performance happens and gives a result for the band. Because the festival’s published rules print no numeric marking scheme for this item, the template’s 10-minute field and /100 maximum are the app’s defaults; an organiser should replace them with whatever their own notice sets. Prizes in the source are first, second and third in each competition.
Organisers value the item because it needs almost nothing: a chair for the panel, a clear running order and a quiet room. It also does quiet work for the language, giving young speakers a reason to learn a passage by heart and say it in front of an audience, and it is often the first stage item a child enters before moving on to singing or drama.
Where Recitation (Llefaru) is run
On the eTalenter templates Recitation (Llefaru) appears on one template, a Welsh-language youth arts festival in Wales, where it is the recitation section of the syllabus. The same family of item (recitation, verse speaking, spoken word) is a standard part of school festivals and speech and drama festivals in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and India. Those are covered on the general Recitation and Poem Recitation pages, which are separate from this Welsh-language item.
- Wales
Key facts
- Individual item: one competitor performs alone, boys and girls together
- Offered in all seven bands: Year 2 and under, Years 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10-11, 12-13 and 14-25
- Language fixed to Welsh on the template
- Competitors are grouped by school year rather than by age range
- The 10-minute time field and /100 maximum are the app’s defaults, because the published rules print no numeric scheme for this item
- The source names first, second and third prizes in each competition and publishes no grade bands
On eTalenter, Recitation (Llefaru) is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Rating out of 10. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Recitation (Llefaru) is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 10 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Recitation (Llefaru)
What a Recitation (Llefaru) panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Memory: a passage delivered cleanly from start to finish, without prompts, pauses to recall or restarts
- Pronunciation and Welsh idiom: correct sounds, stresses and mutations, so the passage sounds like fluent speech rather than a reading of syllables
- Expression and meaning: tone, pace and emphasis that show the competitor understands what the words are saying
- Voice and clarity: a voice that carries to the back of the room, with consonants that are heard and no dropping of line endings
- Presentation: a calm walk on, steady posture and eye contact, and a finish that is held for a beat before leaving
- Suitability and time: keeping to the time allowed and, where a set passage is given, saying that passage and not a substitute
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Recitation (Llefaru) under Scoring Setup, or start from the full recitation & poetry judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Recitation (Llefaru)
How entrants and their teachers usually get Recitation (Llefaru) right on the day:
- Check the set passage for your band first and read it aloud in Welsh several times before you try to memorise a word
- Ask a fluent speaker, a teacher or a recording to model the passage, and copy where they pause, lift and slow down
- Learn it a few lines at a time and add the next lines only when the earlier ones are secure; then run the whole piece daily
- Mark the breaths on your copy so the line breaks come where the sense allows, not where you run out of air
- Practise in front of a person, then in a bigger room, so that the volume you use on the day is one you have already tried
- Time the piece with a phone and make sure it sits well inside the limit, with a little spare for nerves
- Rehearse the entrance and the last line: where you stand, when you start, and the second of stillness at the end
Ready-made event templates that include Recitation (Llefaru)
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urdd Eisteddfod (Wales) | On Stage | Rating out of 10 | 7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Recitation (Llefaru) judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is Recitation (Llefaru) the same as Recitation?
They are the same kind of item, a solo passage delivered from memory, but Llefaru is the Welsh-language version and the template fixes the language to Welsh. The general Recitation page covers the item in any language.
What age groups can enter?
The template has seven bands grouped by school year: Year 2 and under, Years 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, 10-11, 12-13, and a 14-25 band. The band follows the competitor’s school year on the festival’s cut-off date.
How long can the recitation be?
The template carries a 10-minute field, but that is the app’s default because the published rules print no figure for this item. Follow the time in your own festival notice; real rounds are usually much shorter.
Can I read from the page?
Recitation means delivery from memory, so the panel expects no notes. If your festival allows a prompter or a script, that will be written in its own rules, and you should confirm it before the day.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full recitation & poetry judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Recitation (Llefaru) in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Recitation (Llefaru), and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
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