With the Fifa Soccer World Cup about to start next month in Brazil, we thought we’d take a look at how important languages are for top sportsmen, and in particular soccer players and managers – and the impact of multilingualism on the team’s performance.

In fact, the English Premier League, as a whole, has players from over 70 countries – and more than 300 of them don’t speak English as their first language!

Since communication is key to a sports team’s success, surely any self-respecting – and successful – football manager would have to be multilingual, or at least bilingual? If a manager cannot relate to his players, how can he successfully inspire and lead his team to victory?

Some of the most successful soccer managers are multilingual and one only has to look at the English Premier League teams to confirm this:

Manchester City is a good example of the international flavour of English football. Their manager, Manuel Pelligrini, is Spanish and multilingual.  Another top club, Liverpool FC, has Brendan Rogers as their manager. He speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish … and some Italian.  Other successful European football clubs can also boast multilingual managers.

Like most activities worth pursuing, there are times when the motivation for learning another language needs a helping hand!

Here are 10 great language quotes for some inspiration.

❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞
‒Nelson Mandela

❝One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.❞
‒Frank Smith

❝The limits of my language are the limits of my world.❞
‒Ludwig Wittgenstein

Regardless at what age your child is introduced to language learning, there is a lot you can do to encourage and support your kids in their quest for bilingualism.

And you don’t have to be a speaker of that language or be good at languages yourself! You could even take the opportunity to learn another language together with your child.

Here are 7 excellent ways to encourage your chilren’s language learning at home:

1. Nursery rhymes and songs

Young kids learn by repetition and respond well to the melody of nursery rhymes and songs. Even if they don’t understand the words at first, this is a fun yet effective way to absorb a foreign language. While you’re at it, grab a few instruments and have a morning of music and fun!

2. Story tapes, CDs or Videos

Find your child’s favourite story in another language. Listen to or watch a story about Bob le Bricoleur, Le Petit Chaperon Rouge or Blancanieve y los 7 enanitos. You can read the foreign language version along with your child, or play the CD that narrates the story for you both.

In preparation for the Tour De France starting Saturday July 5th we thought we would get you all up to speed on some cycling LINGO so that we all know what we are talking about… most of it in French!

Attack: When a rider suddenly accelerates to break away or open a gap on other riders.

Bidon: French for water bottle

Breakaway: A group of riders who have broken away to lead the race. These could be riders who are competing for a points category, or are keen to absorb some of the prestige which comes from leading the pack.

Bridge: When one of more riders try to catch up with a group ahead of them.

Cadence: The rate in revolutions per minute at which the rider turns the pedals.

Caravane: The procession of team cars and support vehicles following the race. These have all of the riders food, drink and technical support.

Chase: A group of riders attempting to catch the race leaders.

Commissaire: The race judge, who usually follows the race by car.

Domestique: French for “servant”. A rider who supports the lead rider, fetching supplies from the team car and leading the sprinters. The Domestique’s main role is to push the team’s main rider and are often expendable to reach that goal.

Drafting: Also known as ‘slipstreaming’. The act of riding close behind another rider to benefit from the lack of air resistance. This technique can reduce the exertion required by around half, but the risk of crash is increased due to the proximity of the riders. 

Flamme Rouge: Or ‘Red Flag’ which marks the last kilometre of the race. Can mean the end is in sight for a lone rider, or the most exciting part of the race where a group of sprinters begin battling for position.

A recent Australian Bureau of Standards report reports that suicide was the leading cause of death among young Australians in 2012.

“This fact, that young Australians are more likely to kill themselves than die in a car accident is an indictment on contemporary society and a wake-up call for adults responsible about the care and well being of children.”

Read the full article here

It is a dilemma that all parents face – wanting their children to grow up strong, confident and independent, but also wanting to keep them safe from harm. Many parents are reluctant to let their children take part in activities they themselves enjoyed and most children now spend less than three hours a week playing outdoors and getting dirty.

And this decline is affecting children’s ability to cope with life’s ups and downs

“Cotton-wool kids” are denied the chance to learn the independence, to understand the risk taking, and to make the mistakes that are associated with growing up. All of which build confidence and resilience by learning how to overcome failure and to deal with fear, uncertainty and all of life’s myriad challenges.