Football fun and practical language learning was all part of Futbol Lingo’s in-person workshops for children from six North East schools this month at Sport Central (Northumbria University) in Newcastle.
Delivered by Futbol Lingo’s founders, professional football coaches and linguists, Pierce Kiembi and Mark Muddyman, children and young people were inspired to continue learning languages as a way of opening up their future education and career opportunities.
As well as having the exciting experience of being on a university campus, 120 pupils from Gosforth East Middle School, Walker Riverside Academy, Kings Priory School, Gosforth Central Middle School, Hexham Middle School and Royal Grammar School participated in a range of engaging and practical language activities:
- A motivational talk from Pierce and Mark with stories and experiences from around the globe, involving languages and football and to inform pupils about the importance of being able to speak them in this industry.
- A practical classroom workshop with Pierce, where children were split into countries from around the world (French, German and Spanish speaking groups), learned about the key information relating to national football teams and key travel and tourism facts and competed answering questions in these languages to host the World Cup or national/continental football cups.
- A practical football workshop with Mark, enabling pupils to learn, revise and use key football phrases and terms in the target language, whilst playing football in Sport Central’s sports hall.
This was a great opportunity for our lower ability students to see how languages can be used beyond the classroom. Students were inspired by Mark and Pierce’s story and really engaged with the material. Would highly recommend it!
Tom Harman, Head of French and football coach, Royal Grammar School, Newcastle
It was a great day. The children were very engaged in the sessions, the best experience we’ve had doing this. It is wonderful to be able to promote the wide range of careers in football and inspire a future generation of linguists
Pierce Kiembi, Futbol Lingo
This event was a triumph. Based on an original idea from Sarah Edgar at Newcastle City Council to use football as a way to inspire children to learn languages, Pierce and Mark delivered a fun, engaging and inspirational session.
Being at Sport Central on a university campus added even more excitement and value to the day. We are looking forward to the Futbol Lingo webinar on 26th March, which already has around 50 schools and 4,000 pupils signed up!
Declan Baharini, CEO International Newcastle and Co-ordinator, Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages
Futbol Lingo webinar 9-10am on 26th March on Microsoft Teams Live
If you missed the football sessions, schools from the North East and across the UK can still take part in the Futbol Lingo webinar.
Email details of your school and pupil numbers to info@expressyourselfne.com by Monday 25th March.
The Futbol Lingo webinar event details are online here and those who register will be sent joining information and the link, as well as a pupil workbook for students to answer questions in advance, during and after the webinar.
The Futbol Lingo workshop is one of many participatory activities and events which are being delivered free, as part of Express Yourself: North East Festival of Languages. Running for the 4th time this year, the Festival is hosted and co-ordinated by International Newcastle, with a wide range of local, regional and national partners delivering events and activities for schools in the North East, with some activities open to UK and international schools.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all those involved in preparing, running and participating in the Futbol Lingo event:
- All the schools and children and young people who participated
- Pierce Kiembi and Mark Muddyman from Futbol Lingo for delivering a fantastic day of workshops
- Declan Baharini (International Newcastle and Festival Co-ordinator) and Sarah Edgar (Newcastle City Council, School Effectiveness and Festival Steering Group) for working with Futbol Lingo and Northumbria University to develop and host the event
- Phil Hunter and the team at Sport Central, Northumbria University, for all their work in preparing for and then hosting the event and providing invaluable support on the day
