Page 20 - ELG1601 Feb Issue 433

ELpeople
Page 20 February 2016

A sporting chance for students

ram van Asselt knows
that sport can hold the
Bkey to learning English
– because it helped him learn it.
When he was seventeen years Bram van Asselt, Exsportise founder and managing director, tells Melanie Butler how
old his family moved from Hol-
land to England, and the founder learning English through sport inspired him to set up his innovative summer camps
and managing director of Exs-
portise found himself in a school
where he barely spoke a word of neer in professional training for classroom – as on the sports field
the language. coaches – he still runs the coun- or in the music room – excellence
‘I survived because there was try’s biggest website for sports comes down to professional
another Dutch boy in the class, coaches – he built up a cohort inspirational teaching. Small
and he spoke for me, but it was of dedicated sports coaches and wonder then that Exsportise
on the sports field that I learned they began to run sports camps recently became an EL Gazette
the language.’ for British children held at UK Centre of Excellence, having
Bram ended up studying sport, boarding schools. The coaches achieved outstanding results in
and after a few years as a profes- came because they loved the its most recent British Council
sional hockey player in Holland atmosphere, and they came back inspection. ‘I didn’t even know
fell into coaching in the UK. ‘I year after year. Children from you could be a Centre of Excel-
got involved just at the point Europe also began to turn up. lence,’ he admits. ‘I just want to
run excellent summer schools.’
Though as a professional sports-
‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and man, he admits, winning awards
I learn, involve me and I remember.’ is always welcome.
Not that he will rest on his
laurels. He is now focused
the government began to fund They wanted to play sports, their on revolutionising language
sports courses for disadvantaged parents wanted them to study teaching in the same way he
children. I began working with English, so Exsportise roped in Courtesy Exsportise has helped revolutionise sports
Arsenal – we still run Arsenal the boarding school teachers to coaching. ‘What you need to
football and English courses at give English classes. create is a team,’ he says. ‘A
Exsportise – but I worked in all ‘At the beginning the kids team of teachers who do this
sorts of sports.’ hated it. These were sports kids. TEAM SPIRIT Like his students, Bram van Asselt (left) found sports to be a great way to learn English because they love it, who are
Including his beloved hockey? We would sit them down in an always looking for ways to do
‘Yes. My dream was to see a English class, and somebody ber of the UK’s historic public Sport is what these kids want to daughter. She’s a dancer. You it better.’
group of English boys standing would climb out the window schools. It worked – ‘I haven’t do, and English is the language can’t believe how dedicated they Bram’s team of sports coaches
at a bus stop with hockey sticks and head to the football field.’ seen a kid running away to the they learn to achieve that goal. are: the discipline, the hours of has been working together
without feeling embarrassed.’ The answer was to find someone sports fields in years!’ Bram’s educational philosophy practice, the physical demands.’ for years. ‘Many of the sports
‘It worked,’ I comment. ‘We who knew how to run fun lan- Sports, however, remain at sums it up: ‘Tell me and I forget, If kids want to learn to dance, coaches grew up with me. I
beat Holland recently.’ guage classes, and Bram, with a the core of what Exsportise teach me and I learn, involve me Exsportise will teach them – and trained them. They come every
‘And we beat you at cricket in nose for a great teacher, hired the does. The kids are looked after and I remember.’ it will teach them professionally year. They get married, they
the World Cup,’ he shoots back. now legendary Nigel Heritage, in teams by their coach. And Recently, Exsportise has and in English. bring their families to the sum-
His entry into the world of ELT who went on to pioneer sports it’s on the sports field they use introduced dance and music For Bram the goal is excel- mer camps. It’s a way of life. I
came about by accident. A pio- and language courses at a num- the language they’ve learned. classes. ‘I was inspired by my lence, and in the language love it.’ n