Notes: Rugby Development Officer
My name is Sylvain Peyo Diez. I’m French born in Bayonne and used to live in Castres in the south of France. I moved to Scotland in 2010. I have been living in Ayr for 4 years.
I’m a Rugby Development Officer and play rugby for Ayr Rugby Football Club. My job is to organise and promote the game of rugby within the schools of Ayr. I’m employed by the Ayr Community Rugby Trust and the Scottish Rugby Union.
As well as English, have you learned, or do you speak, any other languages?
Because I grew up less than 2 hours drive from Spain, I learned Spanish in primary school before I started to learn English. I have Spanish roots as well, so my Spanish is not too bad. Not as good as my English though.
Do you get the opportunity to go abroad as part of your job? If so, how do you communicate with people when you are there?
I have been lucky enough to be part of a rugby tour in South Africa as a staff member. I came across many different people from many different communities (Afrikaners, Zulus…). We managed to communicate via the English tongue.
Do you have any memorable experiences of trying to communicate with a speaker of another language you would like to share with us?
I have hundreds!! First time in a kebab shop in Scotland, I tried to point to the food that I wanted through the hot glass. It didn’t work as I got served a burger box full of kebab meat with no b
read!! Yummy…
Do you think it is important to be able to speak other languages?
Yes it is! I like travelling and I find it very rude not to be able to introduce myself or say hello/goodbye in the local language. Also, if you’ve got big dreams for your future, surely language must be involved!! Otherwise your dreams are not big enough…
Which language or languages would you consider to be most useful?
As a European citizen, I can’t tell which language is the most important. There are so many cultures in such a small area. English and Spanish are the most important for my personal life and career at the moment.
Do you have a message to share about the importance and the benefits of language learning?
Anything you do or want to do will be bigger, better with speaking another language. It will give you opportunities to meet people and travel. So you will learn about different cultures.
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