Thursday, February 6, 2014

Which language is Arsene speaking? What's he saying?

In my previous post, I sang the praises of Arsene Wenger, coach at Arsenal Football Club.

When I was searching for a photograph of Arsene Wenger, I came across lots of very expressive photos of him.

It occurred to me that they would make a fun classroom activity!

Start by asking students if they recognise the man in the photos. Tell students about this man. His achievements:

He was born in a village near Strasbourg, France.

He can speak 3 languages (English, French and German) fluently. He can also speak Spanish and Italian and a bit of Japanese.

When he was 29 years old, he did a 3-week English course in Cambridge.

He works in London.

He is the manager of an important football team there.

He has been manager at that club since 1996.

Honours: English Premier League: 2004, 2002, 1998; FA Cup: 2005, 2003, 2002, 1998; FA Community Shield: 2004, 2002, 1999, 1998; French Ligue 1: 1988; French Cup: 1991; Japanese Super Cup: 1996

The players at Arsenal now can speak 12 different languages.

Next, in pairs or small groups, students discuss what language they think Arsene Wenger is speaking or thinking in in each of the photos. They imagine that there is a speech or thought bubble coming out of Wenger's mouth. They draw a bubble for each picture and write what he is saying or thinking in each one.

https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQT2x6pu1PM18ifo_ZYUvRCu5cfBG5UiDs8l5AUz-VqcKz2i2xf

clipartsfree.net

2 pairs or groups join to work together. They take it in turn to show their thought or speech bubbles to the other pair/group. They try and match each bubble to the picture it was written for.