Roger Federer can speak 4 languages fluently German, Swiss German, English, & French, plus a little bit of other languages, including Spanish, Swedish and Italian.

Jonny Wilkinson speaks French and is currently playing for RC Toulon in the South of France.

Paula Radcliffe speaks French and German and says: “Although I’m known first and foremost as an athlete, my foreign language skills have given me another dimension to my career. I regularly use French and German when I travel to compete in Europe.”

Arsene Wenger speaks French, German, English, Spanish, Italian and Japanese!

Watch this video interview: http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/cms/?location_id=705

David Beckham speaks Spanish after playing several years at Real Madrid.

Watch his final press conference in Spanish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4LJOVS6xxA&feature=related

Diane Modahl , former Olympic athlete, says: “I know lots of people speak English, but being prepared to say something in someone else’s language is a way of showing them that you care, that you are prepared to make the effort and you don’t just expect them to speak your language. That’s quite arrogant actually, isn’t it?”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/mar/20/sport.comment2 (footballers should speak languages)

Mark Hughes, Welsh football manager, says:

“I wish I had learnt languages at school, because you never know where your career is going to take you.”

Gary Lineker can speak fluent Spanish and Japanese and says: “As the world gets smaller, there’s never been a better opportunity to get into languages.”