During his early days at Goodison Park, Richarlison revealed a former Everton striker was unexpectedly helping to teach him English.
And now Everton in the Community and Rosetta Stone have teamed up to help break down language barriers and form more inclusive communities across Liverpool.
Back in 2018, shortly after his move from Watford, Richarlison was following Marco Silva's orders to immerse himself in the Everton squad by taking intensive English lessons but explained that his most enjoyable way of improving his communication skills came through watching television.
The Brazilian said: “I watch things on Netflix and other English films to help me improve my language skills, but when it comes to understanding how to talk in English about football I always watch Match of the Day.
“I go home after games to watch the highlights with my friends and I listen to the commentary and to the experts.
“After the games, I go home to watch it live. My mates at home always put it on to watch.
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“I understand it (what Gary Lineker and the pundits are saying).”
Fast forward to 2022 and Rosetta Stone, the internationally-renowned language specialist, has provided Everton in the Community with more than 50 complimentary licences for use across its programmes, helping those who have relocated to a new country to become more settled and integrated in their surroundings.
Among those to benefit from the new partnership will be members of the charity’s ‘Welcome Through Football’ programme, which supports refugees and asylum seekers, and ‘Home Is Where The Heart Is’, a residential house that provides placements for young adults facing homelessness.
Funded by the UEFA Foundation, ‘Welcome Through Football’ uses the sport as an engagement tool to help break down cultural barriers; creating a safe and welcoming environment for refugees and asylum seekers to play football together.
The project delivers weekly training sessions, football competitions and provides a range of social and educational enrichment opportunities to help individuals to learn more about what support is available to them.
Johnnie Garside, Everton in the Community’s health and wellbeing manager, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our participants to really make a positive difference to their lives.
“Having relocated to the UK from many other countries, our Welcome Through Football participants speak a range of different languages and all have varied English language abilities.
“Improving their skills and vocabulary will not only help them to feel more settled and build stronger relationships within the local community, but it will also break down cultural barriers and create a more inclusive environment for all.
“This initiative could really change people’s lives in such a positive way, and we can’t wait to see the progress our participants make over the next year.”
Home Is Where The Heart Is supports young adults aged 18-23 years who have found themselves with nowhere to live - offering a safe place to stay, help in areas such as money, health, legal rights and life skills, and an outreach service to support the transition into their own tenancies.
Carla Brown, support supervisor at Everton in the Community, added: “We currently have residents who will really benefit from this fantastic initiative.
“The additional support in terms of developing their English language skills will be invaluable for the residents going forward and is something they will be able to take with them for the rest of their lives – it will open up more opportunities for them and make such a positive difference to their future.”
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Participants from across the two programmes will be given the opportunity to enrol in a 12-month language learning course through Rosetta Stone’s platform, with full support and guidance from Everton in the Community staff.
Everton Free School (EFS), which provides alternative educational opportunities and experiences to young people aged 13-16, will also take part in the initiative, offering the 12-month course to students who may benefit from additional language support to help them integrate fully into school life at EFS.
Rosetta Stone’s unique ‘Dynamic Immersion’ method will help all types of learners read, write, and speak a new language intuitively, without translations – allowing participants to develop their English language skills and feel more settled in their new surroundings.
Miriam Melchers, brand manager, EMEA at Rosetta Stone, said: “We are excited to support Everton's incredible initiatives in their community, by offering participants the opportunity to develop or improve their language skills.
“Communication is one of the most important things in life, and we hope this will enhance their life and experiences while having fun along the way.”
Learning a new language can also provide a range of mental health and wellbeing benefits, with scientific research suggesting that absorbing new vocabulary boosts memory, encourages creativity, makes people better communicators in their native tongue… and can even make the human brain bigger!
Tackling a new language also broadens cultural appreciation and knowledge and has been proven to improve a person's problem-solving and multitasking skills.
Rosetta Stone is also giving Everton fans the chance to sign up to three or 12-month subscriptions and begin learning languages like Spanish, Portuguese, German and French, or something a little more challenging like Arabic, Russian, Japanese or Cantonese – all for less than £10 per month.
