Arsenal’s Spanish defender Hector Bellerin visited a Holloway school to help pupils with their language lessons.
The 19-year-old Spain youth international helped pupils practice football phrases in Spanish, before getting stuck into a football session in the playground.
The visit coincided with the lead up to European Day of Languages yesterday and was part of Arsenal Double Club Languages Programme, which uses football to encourage and inspire children to learn additional languages.
Sessions are split into two halves, with 45 minutes of classroom time – in which children are taught new languages using football related resources – followed by 45 minute football sessions during which pupils are encouraged to use vocabulary from the language they are learning.
Bellerin, who made his Gunners debut against Dortmund in Germany earlier this month, could not speak English when he moved to London from Barcelona two years ago.
He said: “When I came to England from Barcelona in 2011, learning English was so important to helping me settle on and off the pitch.
“It’s great to see the work that Arsenal do to help children learn a second language, and to see so many youngsters enthusiastic about learning Spanish.”
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