I was in a car crash - then I forgot how to speak Welsh

A university student said he felt like a "foreigner" after losing his ability to speak Welsh following a car crash.

Ellis Pears, 19, was driving down a country road in November 2024 when his life "completely changed" after a near miss with a car caused his own vehicle to flip, leaving him concussed.

The law student at Aberystwyth University in Ceredigion realised a few days later that he was struggling to speak Welsh, despite being fluent and attending Welsh-medium schools as a child.

He said the concussion triggered his language difficulties and caused him to endure flashbacks, anxiety, and brain fog after the incident.

Ellis began studying at university only months before the incident and said he was just "starting to settle in".

As he was driving to a friend's house just outside Aberystwyth, he said a 4x4 drove onto his side of the road which caused him to swerve off the road.

Ellis, from Cardiff, said he remembered losing control before spinning several times and hitting a bank.

"I was shouting and shouting but there wasn't a house for two miles (3.2km) either way," he added.

It was at that moment he entered "survival mode", using the what3words geocoding app to give the police his location.

"It completely saved my life – I was in the middle of nowhere, and without it, I'd be walking about two miles before I found a road sign, let alone a house," he said.

Ellis only had a cut on the back of his head from a piece of glass, but went to Bronglais Hospital the same day to be checked, receiving CT and MRI scans as well as tests on his heart, blood and bones.

A few days after the crash, Ellis noticed he was struggling to speak Welsh.

He believes this was because of the concussion, while his low mood made his ability to concentrate even harder.

The student said the incident left him feeling isolated, as a third of his university course was in Welsh.

"I went from being able to do university essays on human rights laws to not being able to build a Lego set," he said.

Ellis said his friends and housemates spoke Welsh "constantly" to each other, which led to him having daily nightmares and panic attacks that made it even harder to concentrate on his studies.

"I stayed in my room and I didn't go to lectures for four weeks after my language got worse," he said.

"I'd be surrounded by people in my flat that I couldn't understand."

Ellis said there was a particularly alarming moment when he "couldn't comprehend" any of a university lecture after the crash.

"I tried emailing my lecturer in Welsh but I couldn't get the words together," he added.

By June 2025, Ellis had noticed a significant improvement in both his mood and language skills.

He achieved a third in some modules at university, but was reassured this would not affect his final grade "too much".

His flashbacks reduced to about once a week, and his Welsh has now "gone back to normal".

While he still thinks his comprehension is "a little slow", Ellis said it had made him rethink his priorities in life.

"Going home" and "spending time with family" have become much more important to him, he added, as he strives to find a work life balance that works for him.