Different class: How a new online approach aims to revolutionise language learning

Thursday, 15 October 2009

Kicking a football about and discovering the joys of augmentative suffixes might not sound like obvious bed-fellows, but making languages relevant to contemporary life is all part of the game at Bradford City Football Club.

It has teamed up with a local boys' comprehensive school to improve Spanish learning among both players and pupils with the hope of challenging the linguistic insularity common to many people in the UK.

"Our interest in Spanish dates back to our signing of the Chilean player Billy Topp, and our desire to make him feel at home with us here at the club," says Bradford's director of operations, Dave Baldwin. "Since then, five or six of our squad have voluntarily gone back to the classroom so they can speak to other players and understand more about Spanish culture and, in turn, we have identified young supporters, ball boys and even potential players at one of our local schools. Whether they want a career in sport or in business, the pupils at St Bede's in Bradford now understand that languages are a really important leg up."

This article is courtesy of The Independent. To carry on reading the article please click here.