Learning to tackle a new language

BECKHAM has been officially signed for Real Madrid - but despite being fluent in the international language of football he may have trouble understanding what his Spanish team-mates are shouting to him on the pitch.

So if our boy Becks wants to learn the best way of conveying and understanding all-important phrases like "over here" or "on me 'ead, son!" to his fellows he is going to have to take a crash course in Spanish.

With international travel and holidays easier and cheaper than ever before these days, a course in a foreign language is something we have probably all considered. You can try to pick the language up as you go along while abroad, study by distance learning or even buy course books and cassettes from any book shop these days, but there are a number of additional options open to you if you are learning a new lingo or just brushing up on existing skills in the York area.

The leaflet Learning 4 Life 2003 should be your first port of call as it provides a comprehensive list of all the language courses available in the York area - from Dutch through to Spanish. You can even learn British Sign Language. The leaflet is a city-wide publication and available from Future Prospects in York who will help you to decide which course is for you and at which level you need to start. There are three levels at which courses are offered - beginners level, courses for those with some experience and courses for the more advanced. Most courses in the leaflet are based at easily accessible local centres.

"It's probably most difficult for people who already have some experience of languages to choose their course," says Sandra Furby, manager of Future Prospects. "But if they come along to us and say that they did GCSE French 20 years ago and have been abroad to France a couple of times then we can advise them as to what level they should start at.

"Some people just want to learn to speak another language, some don't want to do exams, so we can look at people's needs in more detail and nine times out of ten we can help them."

It seems more and more of you are thinking about becoming multilingual as Sandra reports an increase in the number of people seeking to learn a foreign language in York.

"We have seen quite a big rise in take-up in the past year," says Sandra. "Particularly in Spanish - that is filling up at the moment, and Italian is coming up close behind. That's really popular, too."

But if you want to learn a new language there's no reason why you shouldn't start as early or late in life as you like. In fact, Pierre DuPont, Head of the Language Centre at York College, says that the belief that the older you get the harder it is to learn a new language is really a misconception.

"I started learning English at 18 years old and I don't think I am doing too badly," laughs Pierre.

"I think if people want to learn, they have a reason to learn and they want to become a part of that culture that they are learning about then that is all they really need. And I think there are a lot of linguists who would agree with me on that."

So maybe Posh and Becks will fare better with learning Spanish than expected - after all, think of all those Spanish tapas to eat, cocktails to drink, the perfumes to buy and the designer gear to leer at. Oh yes, Posh and Becks will be right at home before you can say "News Of The World" in Spanish.

Find out about and sign up for language courses through Future Prospects in York by visiting the office at 24 Swinegate, York, or by calling them on 0800 834239. You can view a copy of the Learning 4 Life brochure online at the York College web-site at www.yorkcollege.ac.uk.

Languages courses available in the York area include Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, classical or medieval Latin.

Venues include York College; The Gateway Centre; All Saints' School; Millthorpe School; York CVS; York St John's College; Canon Lee School; Huntington School; Oaklands School; Joseph Rowntree School; Park Grove School; Fulford School; Burton Stone Lane; Bishopthorpe Junior School; Tang Hall Library; Guppy's Club; Park Grove School; Huntington Community Centre; Central Library; Burnholme Community College; Priory Street Centre; Fulford Healing Clinic and the University of York.

For information about the University of York's Languages for All programme visit www.york.ac.uk/inst/ltc, call 01904 432493 or e-mail educ22@york.ac.uk.

David's Spanish Dictionary

En mi cabeza, hijo!

(On my head, son!)

Quin comio todas las empanadas?

(Who ate all the pies?)

Enfermo como loro

(Sick as a parrot)

Era un juego de dos mitades

(It was a game of two halves)

se era un padazo vergonzosa de defender

(That was a disgraceful piece of defending)

Updated: 11:39 Thursday, July 03, 2003