German in the UK

If you thought that Handball was a form of cheating then think again – it is the second most popular sport in Germany and, thanks to foreign language assistant Holger Raess, it is now being enjoyed by school pupils in Scotland.

While Germany has the largest Handball association in the world the sport is scarcely known in the UK. Holger decided to introduce the game to his pupils in order to enhance their cultural awareness, and to provide a new fun basis for language learning. His vision has brought together the classroom and the sports hall.

In class, pupils have learnt about handball, and in doing so have improved their language skills on topics such as countries, colours and flags. After Holger had described his friend and handball star Manuel Späth, the pupils also produced their own descriptions of people. The new handball enthusiasts then play the game in a school club every Friday lunch time. In addition to all the new rules, there is also another unusual one for them to get used to – on the pitch, they have to speak German.