Foreign speakers hindered?

By Ollie Standen

Sport is at the epicentre of most people’s lives, whether that is playing or watching a sport, people come together under the umbrella of sport with it being a common topic piece of conversation. Billions upon billions of people tune into sports each year with the same number participating in a sport of their choice, whether that being a team sport, such as football, basketball, hockey, or an individual sport like snooker, tennis, badminton etc. But there is a question of how accepting is home sports for foreign players and is there a language barrier for those participating in sports.

Throughout the years, and investment into certain types of sports, people are drawn to countries with the opportunity to play professionally in the sport of their choosing, with the enticement of more financial opportunities within these countries from these sports. Also, the influx of multiculturalism within societies today has paved the way for foreign players to obtain visas and play within other countries. The EU is a main hotspot for these movements as people are able to move around freely without needing a visa for certain countries how are within the Schengen agreement or countries that certain other countries deem right to not need a visa for entry within the country; therefore, spurring the growth of multiculturalism within countries.

However, this lax in restrictions creates language barriers that stem right from amateur leagues to the pros. Even though pros have the facilities to break this conversational barriers, amateur leagues are struggling to adapt due to the lack of facilities available for them. So, what is being done to combat this: research has shown that sport itself has integral in breaking down these communication barriers, “There are intercultural sports teams, welcome parties organized at sports clubs, trial lessons and casual leisure activities for the new kids and grown-ups on the block. New games, such as cricket, are catching on, as new friendships are formed and clubs welcome young and fresh talents. One of those wonderful projects is Champions without Borders, which was founded in 2012. Its work goes beyond sports: “Through sports training, orientation tours in the Berlin and Brandenburgs cultural scape, counseling and networking, we can effectively accompany refugees from all over the world on their journey to making a new home.” (Mutlu, Ö. 2016:1) which shows how through sports, communication barriers are broken down with the embracement of culture as well as teamwork, people come together to learn about one another as well as opening up teams that speak other languages, for example, here in Munich, there is a team called the ‘Munich Irish Rovers FC’ that is made up of English speaking people that are competing within the German league pyramid system.

There is also a ““Buddy System” for older players to show younger players the ropes” (Austin, M. 2012,1), even though this is an American article, this happens within Germany as well as I have experienced the same from my peers as they have buddied up with me, whether that is through football or basketball, and explain what the instructors are saying to me.

Therefore, the impact of multiculturalism has made sports more vital in the way we communicate with each other, with systems being in place to prevent the isolation of foreign players to locals. With bonds being formed on and off the pitch.

Bibliography

Austin, M. (2012, March 12). Breaking down language barriers with athletes | Coach & Athletic Director. Coach and Athletic Director. https://coachad.com/articles/breaking-language-barriers-with-athletes/ Mutlu, Ö. (2016, June 23). Sports Can Contribute To More Effective Integration Of Migrants In Germany | Özcan Mutlu. Özcan Mutlu. https://www.mutlu.de/sports-can-contribute-to-more-effective-integration-of-migrants-in-germany/