Press Release

Teens exercise language skills in bid for World Cup glory

8 March 2006

UK students are being encouraged to show off their languages for a chance to win a trip to Munich during the World Cup this summer. The competition is part of a campaign to encourage young people to discover other European languages and cultures and appreciate the benefits of regular exercise and healthy eating.

Starwatch, with contributions from 21 international footballers (including England’s Steven Gerrard and Owen Hargreaves), harnesses an enthusiasm for football to promote languages and healthy living to 12–18-year-olds through a range of classroom activities. Students are also encouraged to form fitness teams to train together at school.

All UK secondary schools will receive a resource pack and are invited to complete multilingual fitness projects by 1 June 2006. The resources include a series of fifteen worksheets, an interactive quiz and posters, as well as a website with materials in German, Italian, Dutch and Czech. The Starwatch competition invites students to create projects based on their football heroes for the chance to travel to Munich and join the World Cup party in early July.

The resources can be used in language classes, but are also relevant for PE, PSHE and Biology, as well as for cross-curricular projects. CILT, the National Centre for Languages is working with the Physical Education Association and German publisher Zeitbild to make the Starwatch materials available to schools across the UK.

For more details, see www.cilt.org.uk/sport/starwatch.htm or e-mail starwatch@cilt.org.uk.