Gabriel admits his English still ‘isn’t fantastic’ but the Brazilian says he’s conquered the language enough to communicate with his teammates without problems.
Speaking to Arsenal’s Double Club about the importance of adapting to new countries and the role languages play within that process, the 25-year-old touched on how he picked up Spanish after his move to Villarreal and why he’s been studying hard since moving to the Emirates.
“It wasn’t that hard to learn Spanish because it has some words that are similar in Portuguese. Others are more complicated that still cause me some level of difficulty today. I learnt quite a lot and it was more than enough to be able to play in Spain. I learnt quite a lot and it was more than enough to be able to play in Spain.
“I don’t have any problems with doing an interview in Spain. I was doing interviews in Spanish not long into my spell there. When I arrived here, the fact there were so many Spanish-speaking players helped me settle in. I don’t have many problems with Spanish and speak it quite well.”
Gabriel moved to England 14 months ago and still isn’t confident enough to speak to the media in English. Reflecting on what he had to learn first when he signed for Arsenal, he continued:
“I think it can be hard for everyone who comes from abroad and for the club too. Nobody imagined I’d manage to settle in so quickly. I learnt the most important words you need on the pitch, especially as a defender. It’s crucial to learn English so you can communicate with other defenders and the goalkeeper. I learnt those small words quickly and am comfortable in terms of communicating on the pitch to help everyone.
“I have already learnt many things, I can say a few things and my understanding is slightly better [than my speaking]. It isn’t fantastic [my English], but I think it’s enough to be able to play. I’m studying to learn a lot more than I currently know because it’s a very important language in the world.”
Arsenal’s ‘Double Club’ is an innovative, award-winning educational programme combining football and language learning. The aim is to inspire and motivate the club’s younger fans to study hard. Doing his bit for the cause, Gabriel urged young Gunners to knuckle down and study if they want to improve at a new language.
“I think it takes dedication to your studies – this is very important. I know just how important it is. Not knowing English meant I stopped doing certain things.
“I think my advice for those who want to learn languages is to be completely dedicated and do plenty of studying so you learn and don’t have problems if you go to another country to work or do any other activity. It can take away all the difficulties.”
Double club, double sentence (on the third paragraph). Get the editors in 😉
Jimmy 2 times…”I’ll get the paper, the paper.”
Gabby 2 times…”I’ll smash the cunt, the cunt.”
Gabby needs to give an extensive interview to Arseblog so we know how far he got with his English. Giroud is not that better in my opinion. Even some English players have the words but can’t express any idea. They go: In the first half we played well then we did not play well and at end we tried to play well etc…
I was concerned about his English.
I appreciate its difficult moving to a new country, especially one with shit weather and your team-mates hiding behind grimy London bins, but I don’t think its that difficult if you apply yourself.
Like most people I work full time but still managed to learn some basic Spanish, greetings, ordering in restaurants etc.
Learning a language and being able to effectively communicate in that language in a high pressure, time sensitive situation like you get in football games are two different things. That and obviously the difficulty of learning a language is relative to the individual. As a child (when you are statistically most adept at learning new languages) I was able to learn to Speak and communicate in French relatively quickly, but it still took me a year or two before I was comfortable and confident speaking it while playing football, and that’s at an amateur kids level, not the top echelon… Read more »
I think you’ve got some valid points, but if an individual can work full time and gain qualifications at night school, anything is possible (just an example not speaking about me).
I don’t know Gabriel, so can’t attest to how much time he’s invested in learning
Goonero, I said the same thing about a month or two ago when the subject of Gabriel’s english came up and people just don’t understand the difference between having a few moments to repeat what someone said and translate it versus having to hear and understand in real time. I can speak French pretty well, but it still takes me some moments to translate certain phrases. I’m glad he’s up to speed on the pitch now, but I think he’s trying to give full, thought out responses to the media when he is interviewed rather than giving canned responses like… Read more »
hey toi aussi, t’as le meme probleme? I struggle with the same issue in french despite being schooled to advanced diploma level in french. When people speak fast and in heavily accented or colloquial french, i take a couple of seconds extra to decode what was said than normal.
Also coming from Portuguese to English is one of the harder Latin based transitions to make. Especially Brazilian Portuguese which is highly syllable-timed, as opposed to English which is stress-timed. Look at many famous Brazilian English speakers and they all still struggle with pronunciation.
Didn’t look ‘fine’ on the pitch at Old Trafford when he was unable to communicate with Koscielny and Rashford scored a free header. Not convinced by him, but you need to let him have a run of games to show his ability and potential, as well as grow in confidence in the team.
Even me to study German language in Germany is kind of difficult, thanks for saying studying hard
Gabriel doesn’t strike me as one of those guys who will ever command ‘fantastic’ English.
That being said, immersion through game time will only breed confidence in him and once he’s settled and comfortable on the pitch I think we could have a real player on our hands for the next couple of years to come – the talent and attitude are clearly there.
Still speaks better English than Rooney
lol love it 🙂
If you want to understand English speech you need to surround yourself with it maximum: listen to the native speakers, try to copy their speech and accent, and you will adapt faster. I can advise you to learn different podcasts in English (BBC news or TED.com). It’s important to watch your favorite serials and movies in English (if it’s hard to be able to distinguish what they say, you can watch films with English subtitles at ororo.tv ). As for the conversation you can take conversational group classes — this is a very effective way to speak up (I study… Read more »