The Linguist is a languages magazine for professional linguists, translators, interpreters, language professionals, language teachers, trainers, students and academics with articles on translation, interpreting, business, government, technology
Issue link: https://thelinguist.uberflip.com/i/271849
18 The Linguist FEBRUARY/MARCH www.iol.org.uk PRIZEWINNERS 2012 Arsenal football club is successfully promoting language learning in schools through its inspirational Double Club programme, says Steve Eadon When Arsenal's outreach work with schools began in the 1990s, the North London football club already had a history of engaging young people through sport, and a long-standing social commitment to its neighbouring boroughs. Arsenal in the Community had been established in the early 1980s, but it was when school visits became an integral part of the programme that it developed the idea of motivating young people using Arsenal as a hook. The innovative Arsenal 'Double Club' education scheme, named when the North London team won both the Premier League title and the FA Cup in 1998, was originally offered to boost pupil engagement in literacy and numeracy. However, when the Fifa World Cup was held in Germany in 2006, the department developed resources for German in collaboration with the Goethe Institut and UK-German Connection. The idea was to make language learning fun for pupils, particularly those choosing their GCSEs. Like a game of football, the programme's delivery is divided into 45-minute halves. The first session takes place in the classroom, where students use learning materials produced by Arsenal in collaboration with partners who specialise in the subject area. These resources are fun, colourful and filled with pictures and exercises that relate to football, Arsenal and its players. The second half takes place outside, as pupils enjoy a football session with an Arsenal-trained, FA-qualified community football coach. All Double Club workbooks are in line with the topics covered by the National Curriculum. Learning's the Game in the Community hosts the group for a tour of the stadium and its facilities, including the Directors' Box, the Arsenal dressing room and pitchside. 'I don't really watch football but it was cool to see the changing rooms that the players use and practise our French as well,' said one recent participant. Although the tour is conducted in English, pupils are encouraged to use the language skills gained from the Double Club materials to interact with the tour guide. They are then taken to one of the function rooms for fun language quizzes based around the tour and the resources. All pupils receive prizes and certificates. Other one-off events, such as the multilingual World Cup anthem, have engaged young people in languages through music. In 2010, prior to the World Cup in South Africa, more than 250 pupils from schools across the country performed and recorded Get the Ball Rolling, which included lyrics in several languages, among them French, German and Afrikaans. The Olympic Song competition was a similarly successful initiative in 2012, in which A key element of each module is a DVD featuring an Arsenal player speaking in the target language, and there are listening exercises based around these interviews. The language is also reinforced while students are on the football pitch, and all Double Club coaches have notes containing simple vocabulary that corresponds with the content of the classroom resources. After a successful pilot of the German resources at secondary level, the range of languages was expanded to include French and Spanish, in partnership with the Institut Français and the Consejería de Educación respectively. A continuing, supportive partnership was established with the European Commission in 2007. Primary resources soon followed in each of the three languages, as well as modules in Italian and Portuguese, in collaboration with the Italian Consulate, Royal Holloway University of London, Routes into Languages and Canning House. To round off the programme, participating schools have the option of bringing pupils to the Emirates Stadium for a unique 'Language Day' visit. A multilingual member of Arsenal AT THE STADIUM Pupils record the Olympic Song © A RSENAL F OOTBALL C LUB /D AVID P RICE