Exclusive by Owen Morgan
Alfie Tuck doesn’t just want to walk the walk on the pitch for Wales, he wants to talk the talk off it, too.
The 17-year-old QPR midfielder is taking weekly Welsh lessons in a bid to immerse himself in the nation’s culture.
Tuck may be London-born and bred but is eligible to play for Wales through his maternal grandfather.
Despite his background being more jellied eels than bara brith, Tuck is determined to reinforce his Welsh roots by learning the language.
Alfie has even displayed his new found linguistic talent in a series of video interviews for International House London, alongside some of his QPR teammates, who have opted for some of the more traditional football languages among the 17 offered by the school.
Jenkins, who has a master’s degree in foreign languages and taught for International House in Barcelona for a number of years, said: “We deal with a lot of different clubs, with Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, quite popular as well. German is increasing in popularity with the Bundesliga being quite strong.
“So, when we got the request for Welsh last year, I thought, ‘gosh, this is really unusual and really interesting.
“But then as soon as I met Alfie, heard his background story and his motivation for learning the language, I was like, ‘yeah, you know, that makes total sense’. Fair play to him, it’s fantastic what he’s doing.”
https://twitter.com/IHLondon/status/1735588221776515381?s=20
Tuck is grateful for the tuition and support he has received from Jenkins.
“At the beginning of my lessons, I wondered how I was going to learn, and understand, the language,” admitted Tuck.
“With the belief and support of my teacher, who has helped me massively in a short time, I am growing in confidence.
“Welsh is a difficult language to learn but I have enjoyed the challenge and look forward to continuing to learn.
“My mum and her side of the family are extremely proud and happy that I have started learning Welsh and were proud to see the interview that I did with QPR and IH London.
“I’m looking forward to visiting them soon and hopefully having a conversation with them in Welsh!”
https://twitter.com/IHLondon/status/1733411389786444119?s=20
