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England duo tackle language barrier
17 Jul 2009England internationals James Haskell and Tom Palmer are having intensive French lessons at their new club Stade Francais.
Coach Ewen McKenzie ordered the pair, signed from London Wasps, to study three-hours a day, four times a week for the next month. Palmer said: "Speaking the language of the country where you play is paramount."
Reader views (1)
Couldn’t agree more with the bit about speaking the local language of the country you’re in. It’s good to see that Ewen McKenzie has asked for this to happen. The fact is, you CAN get by without any local language, as bags of people do when they go on holiday, but you’re generally left with the feeling that you could possibly have got a lot more out had you just put a bit more in.
Once you’re away from the constraints of the national curriculum and learning at school, and once you know WHY you need to learn the language, the job becomes a lot easier. Whether it’s to understand what the coach is saying, to speak to fans, or to handle foreign press interviews, the vocabulary required will be restricted, the kinds of phrases you’ll hear or have to say, repetitive. This in turn means you no longer have the impression that you have to learn the WHOLE language to have a hope of speaking a few phrases. This should mean they can learn a lot with their 3 hours a day, get the fans on board, and enjoy more of the experience. Bonne chance, fellas!
- Richard Bradford, Md, Cactus, Brighton, UK, 17/07/2009 17:19
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